California Free Press

Off the Top of My Head

America Has an Employment Problem, Not an Unemployment Problem

by John Lawrence

Wherever you look from air traffic controllers to fruit pickers to caregivers to teachers to police, there are not enough workers. That is why unemployment is so low - at 3.4%. The Health Services, Professional and Business Services, Trade, and Accommodation and Food Services industries have the highest numbers of job openings. The question is why there is a shortage of workers and what to do about it.The pandemic caused a major disruption in America’s labor force—something many have referred to as The Great Resignation. In 2022, more than 50 million workers quit their jobs, many of whom were in search of an improved work-life balance and flexibility, increased compensation, and a strong company culture. But a closer look at what has happened to the labor force can be better described as ‘The Great Reshuffle’ because hiring rates have outpaced quit rates since November of 2020. So, many workers are quitting their jobs—but many are getting re-hired elsewhere. In a game of musical chairs workers are seeking and getting better jobs, leaving high stress professions like nursing and teaching and getting paid more to do other things.

So America basically has a shortage of "essential workers," workers who do necessary work for traditionally low pay. America has developed so many ways to make money doing inessential work at higher pay so why should anyone who doesn't have to work in an essential job? There are two ways. 1) Pay more for essential work and 2) increase legal immigration because increasingly immigrants are doing the work that Americans who have been Americans longer don't want to do. The worker shortage has empowered workers. They are so to speak in the catbird seat. They are demanding more pay, shorter hours, better working conditions. This is all well and good, but, as the pandemic showed, essential work is necessary for people to live while so many other forms of work, while more lucrative, could disappear tomorrow without affecting much most Americans' quality of life. For instance, Facebook had 86,482 full-time employees as of December 2022, up from just 150 people in 2006. If Facebook disappeared tomorrow, nothing essential to life would be lost in my opinion. The same is true for other social media like Tik Tok. In fact considering the effects social media has had on the population, the world might be better off if all social media disappeared tomorrow. Then those workers would be available for more essential jobs.

If the advertising industry disappeared tomorrow, the world might be better off. For instance, I can find anything I might be interested in buying on Amazon. I don't need to be pounded on by TV commercials to be told what I should want or what I should need. In particualar, Facebook makes all its considerable revenues from advertising. It does not manufacture a product essential to life or any product at all. People are getting smart that there are cushier, safer jobs with better work-life balance than essential jobs. Caregivers like Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) are low paid but essential jobs. Anyone who has had a loved one in the hospital for any length of time realizes how essential they are. They do the dirty work like changing patients diapers and cleaning up when they haven't got to the patients' bedsides in time to prevent a tragedy. Nurses and teachers are overworked considering the nurse/patient ratio and the teacher/student ratio. Much essential work is done by non college graduates and, therefore, does not merit the esteem that college graduates' jobs garner. Nevertheless, they are more important jobs in an essential sense, than many jobs that require a college education. When you need a plumber, you will not usually be hiring a college graduate.

About half of Americans who lost their job during the pandemic and are still not working say they are not willing to take jobs that do not offer the opportunity for remote work. However, many essential jobs can't be done remotely. They are "hands on." It is about time that America values its essential workers and makes a distinction between what's essential and what is inessential. It's a question, to some extent, of values, of what kinds of work are valued. This is where unions come in. America cannot function without essential workers. Yet the only way they can get the pay and benefits they deserve is to unionize and withdraw their workforce if necessary to get what they deserve. For sure, they won't get a better paying job otherwise unless they quit and go to work for Facebook.

Off the Top of My Head

Government Deficit Spending Is Not the Problem: Lack of Labor and Physical Resources Is

by John Lawrence

Since the US dollar is a sovereign fiat currency, the US can never run out of dollars. The debt ceiling is a totally artificial limit which results in the US hoisting itself on its own pitard. According to Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) as espoused in The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton, the only limit on government spending is inflation, and inflation is concerned with the amount and nature of resources available to soak up the money injected into the economic system by the government. According to this theory it makes sense that a lack of labor resources could lead to inflation. Consider that right now there is a shortage of air traffic controllers, and this is leading to a cancellation of flights. If there were more air traffic controllers available, the number of flights could be increased, and more economic activity would ensue. The constraint on flights available because of the lack of air traffic controllers leads to inflation because the money charged for each available flight can be increased. Essentially there is a bidding war for the available flights. If any resource including natural resources like steel and cement is not sufficient for the demand for those resources, then the price of those resources will increase leading to inflation. Right now in the US labor is becoming a scarce resource especially labor of the type necessary in the essential economy, that is the economy of goods and services necessary for the continuation and enhancement of everyday life. As more labor is developed for essentially useless services like the entertainment and social media industries, plumbers, electricians and carpenters are not available for useful services, and, therefore, the cost of those services increases.

Which brings us to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act which allocates $370 billion to rebuild infrastructure and fight climate change. These are all necessary and vital goals, but the question should be asked are the resources for this amount of spending sufficient or will this spending be inflationary. To put it more succinctly is the blue collar labor sufficient for the job? If not, the price of labor will be bid up and the spending will be inflationary. More and more these days students are encouraged to go to college where they end up after graduation working for Wall Street or hedge funds or in the entertainment/social media industry. They are not encouraged to go to vocational technical schools to become carpenters, plumbers and electricians. So they go into industries which are not essential to the real economy. There are shortages of labor for the real economy everywhere we look. In order to overcome these shortages, it would be necessary to step up legal immigration since immigrants by and large fill the jobs Americans don't want to do, and by and large Americans don't want to perform any kind of the less glamorous and remunerative type of labor necessary for production in the real economy. Also outsourcing has made it unnecessary for Americans to perform labor in the real economy. We rely either on immigrants or foreign workers for that.

The next thing is that all this infrastructure rebuilding is going to contribute to global warming as well as reducing it. Rebuilding all the bridges of America will require large amounts of steel and cement. Steel and cement production produce large amounts of carbon dioxide which is emitted into the atmosphere. The International Energy Agency estimates that direct CO² emissions due to crude steel production is approximately 1.4 tons of CO² per ton of steel produced. The cement industry is responsible for about 8% of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions — far more than global carbon emissions from aviation. If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, after the U.S. and China. So rebuilding America's infrastructure will contribute to global warming while at the same time attempting to reduce global warming. The fact is that alternatives to steel and cement which do not produce greenhouse gasses are not available. Research on these topics needs to be stepped up. But more research in areas like artificial intelligence, of the kind which has no use in the amelioration of global warming, takes place while productive research into materials to replace steel and cement languishes. Also while more electric vehicles are being produced, the electric energy to power these vehicles is coming from power plants that still use fossil fuels to produce it. One form of greenhouse gas production is being traded for another. Nothing is gained unless all energy generating power plants are using renewable and non carbon dioxide producing fuels.

The problem is that limited resources both in terms of labor and physical resources will hamper efforts both in repairing American infrastructure and building infrastructure which reduces the amount of greenhouse gas production. Stephanie Kelton writes: "That's why MMT recommends a different approach to the federal budgeting process, one that integrates inflation risk into the decision making process so that lawmakers are forced to stop and think about whether they have taken the necessary steps to guard against inflation risk before approving any new spending. MMT would make us safer in this respect because it recognizes that the best defense against inflation is a good offense. We don't want to allow excessive spending to cause inflation and then fight inflation after it happens. We want agencies like the CBO helping to evaluate new legislation for potential inflation risk before Congress commits to funding new programs so that the risks can be mitigated preemptively. At its core  MMT is about replacing an artificial (revenue) constraint with a real (inflation) restraint." The artificial revenue constraint is the debt ceiling!

In the above passage the words "inflation risk" could also be replaced with "greenhouse gas emission risk." The CBO should evaluate both kinds of risks. So as the economy becomes more electrified in terms of electric cars and buildings, we need to think about the fact that the electricity generated by these increased demands needs to come from non carbon dioxide emitting sources. Also substitutes must be found quickly - in other words research needs to be stepped up - to find substitutes for steel and cement. To boot, non polluting energy sources must be found for ships and planes. Both human and physical natural resources must be taken into account. Have all these things been thought through?

Off the Top of My Head

The Immigration Debacle - Part 6 - Strengthening the Border

by John Lawrence

As much as the provision of safe zones and other aspects that have been mentioned in this series, strengthening the US southern border is equally important. The problem is that there are those who would rather take their chances illegally entering the US rather than going to a safe zone or a port of entry and asking for asylum there. Right now only about 20% of asylum seekers actually get it. What we want to encourage is legal, orderly immigration, not helter skelter, chaotic and random immigration by people illegally crossing the border and vanishing into the interior of the US. Democrats don't emphasize enough their preference for legal and not illegal immigration enough. One gets the impression that they are for immigration whether it is legal or illegal.  So Republicans are the ones who are left with the issue of strengthening the border to minimize illegal immigration. Democrats should be just as concerned about non citizens breaching the southern border illegally as Republicans are.

Since those going to the proposed safe zones may never be cleared or given asylum, desperate people will still take their chances by trying to enter the US illegally. As the law stands now, if they set foot in the US and ask for asylum, they must be given a court date (right now the waiting time to appear in court is 4 1/2 years) and allowed to stay in the US while they are waiting. They cannot access government benefits and given a green card, however, until asylum is granted. Part of disincentivizing illegal immigration is to change this law so that those entering illegally can be deported. The other part is to strengthen the southern border both physically and electronically. Satellite observation should be used. More human resources should also be put into border protection. Potential immigrants can always apply for asylum at a port of entry, but, if safe zones in Guatemala or other central American countries are realized, people would not have to make the long trek to the US to apply at a port of entry. Therefore, as much as I hate to say it, Trump was right to want to build a border wall. That in and of itself is not enough to discourage illegal immigration. Suffice it to say that more resources should be put into protecting the southern border while incentivizing potential immigrants to apply for asylum in safe zones closer to their home countries as Representative Gonzalez has proposed..

Legal and orderly immigration should be encouraged and the numbers let in should increase. There is a labor shortage in the US for the kinds of jobs that immigrants usually are qualified for. This means agricultural and construction workers among other kinds of laborers. Increasing the number of legal immigrants let into the country will not only ameliorate the labor shortage but will reduce inflation as supply chains will become more efficient. I am for humane treatment of immigrants, but incentivizing them to trek to the southern border and enter illegally is not humane. Asylum seekers, refugees and those wishing to immigrate for a better life should all be treated humanely and incentivized to apply in a legal and orderly manner.

Off the Top of My Head

The Immigration Debacle - Part 4 - Congressman Vicente Gonzalez' Safe Zone Proposal

by John Lawrence

Similar to suggestions in this series, Congressman Gonzalez has proposed a safe zone in Guatemala from which asylum seekers could apply to enter the United States and take the pressure off the southern border. At the same time the law that allows admission to the US for anyone setting foot on the US would change. People doing this would be transported back to the safe zone. They could apply for asylum there. Congressman Vicente's proposal is the following:

“America is a haven for those looking to escape poverty, violence, and religious or political persecution,” stated Congressman Gonzalez. “It is time we address our flawed immigration process and ensure the safety of migrants and the security of our country. I am proud to introduce this legislation that allows individuals to apply for asylum in their home country—breaking the cycle of dependence on human traffickers and the deadly risk of trekking thousands of miles over harsh terrain. 

“The Safe Zones Act provides much needed relief to our border communities and gives a humane path to asylum seekers, removing their reliance on cartels for passage to our southern border. The Safe Zones Act allows people to apply for asylum legally and securely in a process that alleviates pressure on our Border Patrol personnel, border communities, and our immigration courts. The scenes we have witnessed from migrants dying in tractor-trailers to drowning in the Rio Grande are nothing short of horrific and heartbreaking. It is time we adequately address immigration reform with common-sense, bipartisan measures that provide actual results.  

“I urge my colleagues to join me and send this bill to President Biden’s desk. Seeking a better life in the United States should not be a death sentence for families. It is time we change the system for the better.” 

It goes on:

• Safe Zones are designated by the Secretary of State under section 207(g) to accept and process applications for refugee admissions to the United States.

• Safe Zones may include embassies, consulates, other diplomatic facilities, or other facilities as determined to be appropriate by the Secretary of State.

The only thing I would add is, considering conservative concerns, the border itself should be strengthened to discourage illegal immigration. If those attempting to cross the US border know that they will be caught and transported back to the safe zone, they will be disincentivized from doing so.

Off the Top of My Head

The Immigration Debacle - Part 3 - The Difference Among Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Illegals

by John Lawrence

A refugee is someone who wants to emigrate to another country, but applies typically from a refugee camp in a neighboring country. If granted refugee status, they can not determine exactly which country they will be granted admission to.  An asylum seeker is like a refugee in the fact that they want to leave their home country, but unlike a refugee they attempt to set foot in the country they want to go to. Some of them do this legally by approaching a port of entry and requesting asylum. They are then processed and given a court date at which time a judge will decide whether or not to give them asylum status. It all depends on whether or not they can convince the judge that they are fleeing violence in their home country. Fleeing poverty is not a good enough reason. Approximately 80% are denied asylum status and ordered to leave the US. Others enter the US illegally ^i.e. by crossing the border but not at a port of entry. If they are picked up by border patrol, they can then also request asylum. Others enter illegally and manage to evade the authorities altogether. They are the true illegals.

The problem from the asylum seeker's point of view is 1) their court date may be way off in the future and they are given no government assistance until after they are granted asylum and 2) their chances of getting asylum are very meager. So this situation incentivizes people to enter illegally and try not to get caught especially if they have family in the US who can shelter them. There are a number of ways to change the dynamics of this situation - some favored by conservatives and some favored by liberals. To really solve this problem what is needed are elements from both sides. The policy of letting anyone who sets foot in the US claim asylum should be changed. People should be incentivized to request asylum at a port of entry or better yet ask for refugee status in their home country or a neighboring one. The border wall should be strengthened to make it very unlikely that anyone can get in illegally. The fact that someone can wade across the Rio Grande, set foot in the US and request asylum is ridiculous. This is where I side with conservatives. On the other hand the process of requesting asylum at a port of entry needs to be expedited. These cases should be decided in a matter of days not months. If you have to hire more judges and build more court rooms, so be it. Furthermore, the policy for granting asylum should be liberalized to the extent that reasons other than "fleeing violence" are acceptable. Fleeing the results of climate change should be factored in as, more and more, that will be one of the main reasons for migration. So the goal should be discouragement of illegal entry by means of a strong border wall whether physical, electronic or both and encouragement of asylum seekers to do so at a port of entry.

Another component of immigration policy is that quotas should be greatly increased for refugees and immigrants in general. In fiscal year (FY) 2020, slightly more than 707,000 immigrants became lawful permanent residents (LPRs, also known as green-card holders), the lowest number since 2003 and the first time the figure dropped below 1 million since 2013, when 991,000 people obtained green cards. This number needs to be greatly increased. If more immigrants are let in legally, they will disincentivized from coming illegally. Also the US is greatly in need of workers for those jobs that immigrants typically do. The bracero program used to let Mexican farm laborers come to the US on short term labor contracts to do farm work. These kinds of workers are in short supply today and liberalizing immigration laws should help to bring much needed workers to the US legally.

Amnesty International estimates that there are 70 million refugees worldwide. Some of the largest refugee camps are in Africa. Refugees are hoping to be resettled in a country where they can experience basic human rights. Some are willing to leave these camps and risk life and limb to get to the European Union or the US. Many have drowned in the Mediterranean trying to get to Italy or Greece. Similarly, many have lost their lives trying to get to the southern border of the US. Southern border states as well as Italy and Greece are upset that they have to bear the brunt of illegal immigrant crossings.

The third thing the US could do is to ameliorate conditions in Central and South America as well as Haiti and some other Caribbean countries that are contributing to the high volume of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. This could be done by using the US military to root out the gangs which are threatening peoples' lives and doing the human trafficking as well as drug smuggling. Financial and economic help could reduce the impact and burden of poverty in those countries. The Peace Corps could help people to build their lives from the ground up rather than just giving their governments money which could be siphoned off by corrupt bureaucrats. Ameliorating poverty and the negative effects of climate change by improving infrastructure and creating a safe environment will reduce the number of those seeking admission to the US. Processing asylum seekers and refugees in countries outside the US so that immigrants don't have to trek thousand of miles or pay a coyote to traffic them would cut the pressure on the southern border.

Off the Top of My Head

The Immigration Debacle - Part 2

by John Lawrence

By international and American law, any foreign national has the right to present themselves at a port of entry and apply for asylum. To be given asylum one must prove that they have a fear of persecution in their home country. One also has a right to request asylum if they enter the US illegally ^i.e. swim across the Rio Grande or getting into the US by means of a weak link in the border fence. Title 42, implemented under the Trump administration allowed persons who entered illegally to be deported because of COVID restrictions. Also in a deal worked out with the Mexican government asylum seekers were required to remain in Mexico while applying for asylum. Title 8 which preceded Title 42 allowed asylum seekers to remain in the US until their court date at which time they were either granted asylum or deported. The Trump administration with Title 42 had a makeshift, half way solution to the border crisis: they discouraged people from coming to the southern border. However, they did nothing to address the root causes and conditions that incentivized this problem. It's true that the southern states shouldn't have to bear the brunt of immigrants legal or illegal coming across the border any more than Italy or Greece should have to bear the brunt of immigrants seeking entry to Europe from Africa and the Middle East. The current UNHCR law regarding refugees was implemented after WW II and is need of revision since the current situation is far different than the one prevailing then.

Applying for asylum status at a port of entry or entering illegally requires a lengthy and dangerous journey from a home country and possibly paying a coyote thousands of dollars. However, the US southern border is a magnet for asylum seekers because of the current law. That law should change in order to encourage migrants to apply for asylum in their home country. Unfortunately, their home country is the one they're fleeing from presumably because of a threat to their lives. One solution is for the US, hopefully with the cooperation of central American and south American countries which are providing most of the asylum seekers, to go into those countries and do whatever is necessary to root out the gangs which are threatening the violence from which the asylum seekers are escaping. The US could provide safe zones in those or neighboring countries to which asylum seekers could flee and apply for asylum or refugee status there. The US should give cash and/or other incentives to keep asylum seekers in or relatively close to their home country until their cases can be heard in court. Courts should also be located in these safe zones so they would not have to travel to the US.

At the same time that asylum seekers are incentivized to apply in or near their home countries, they should be disincentivized from coming to the US southern border. This could be done by denying a court hearing for asylum status to those presenting themselves at a port of entry or entering illegally. This relieves the pressure on the southern border. This would be in violation of the international law regarding asylum seekers, but would not foreclose the possibility of seeking asylum. To the extent that the US improved the conditions which created the need for asylum in the first place, the number of asylum seekers would diminish. In the present era many seeking to immigrate to the US or Europe are doing so to escape economic conditions in their home countries. Economic immigrants are already ineligible for asylum under international law. However, if developed and advanced countries like the US and European Union would devote major resources to improving economic conditions in poorer countries, this would decrease the need for immigration. At the present time and going forward immigration will also be driven by climate change as people lose the means to support themselves due to floods, fires and drought. The US, as the major cause of greenhouse gas emissions, has a responsibility to ameliorate conditions in countries which are suffering most from global warming.

UNHCR most recently estimated that, by mid-2021, for the first time in recorded history, the number of forcibly displaced persons is now 89.3 million with over 27.1 million refugees. The advanced countries - that means Europe and the US -  need to coordinate their policies and increase their quotas for the admission of refugees. The number worldwide will only increase due to climate change. Refugees are not the same as asylum seekers. They are mostly in refugee camps around the world while asylum seekers present themselves at the borders of a country they wish to immigrate to. Those seeking asylum in the US are not entitled to government benefits such as TANF or Medicare until they have actually been granted asylum. It is only then that they can get a green card and other benefits. However, the court system is so backlogged that this might take years. The system as it exists now needs to be thrown out and revised, and that should start by changing the law at the UN so that both a humane and a realistic system can be implemented based on current and projected conditions.

Off the Top of My Head

The Immigration Debacle

by John Lawrence

The number of people seeking admission to the US and Europe is only going to increase due to a number of factors - climate change will be the main one as time goes on. The international laws on asylum seeking need to be revised. Right now anyone who presents themselves at the border of the US or a European country and requests asylum can legally enter that country and have their asylum request considered although it may or may not be granted. The problem is that the law as written expects that applicants are individuals with a specific request. The situation now, however, is that huge throngs of people are migrating due to war, crime, economic conditions and increasingly climate change. The reality is that it's not an individual phenomenon any more. Although any country is required to accept asylum seekers regardless if they had anything to do with creating the conditions that led to the people requesting asylum, the immensity of the problem makes the current law inadequate and insufficient.

The solution to this seemingly intractable problem is multifaceted. 1) The law that says that anyone setting foot on American soil is entitled to asylum and a hearing needs to be invalidated. 2) Defenses at the border need to be increased so that illegal asylum seekers (those who don't apply for asylum at a port of entry) can't cross the border illegally. 3) The US needs to intervene in countries where the conditions contribute to migration and to the extent possible ameliorate those conditions so that people can stay in their own country and not be in danger of being killed or intimidated by criminals or gangs. In other words so that they can have security in their own countries. In addition the US should assist to the extent possible in creating the economic conditions such that people would want to stay in their own countries since more and more refugees and asylum seekers are economic refugees. 4) The US needs to encourage people to apply for asylum in their own countries by making it impossible to gain entry to the US legally or  illegally by coming to the border and making it propitious to apply for asylum or refugee status in their home countries. This could mean even offering cash to those who apply at home rather than coming to the border. In other words both a carrot and a stick approach. We should give them incentives to stay where they are.

The general approach would be to make it futile for migrants to approach the US border and to encourage them to apply for asylum in their home countries even using incentives for that and disincentives for coming to the border. Right now migrants have every incentive to come to the US border because once they have planted even one foot on US soil, it is required by law to give them an asylum hearing, and, meanwhile, they are in the US at least temporarily and need to be given humane treatment which costs money. To boot they may never even show up for their asylum hearing! This is a ridiculous situation. The US has exploited Central and South American countries economically for centuries. It needs to make up for it now by decreasing poverty in those countries and incentivizing people financially to stay in their own countries. To the extent people feel unsafe due to criminal and gang activities, these gangs need to be rooted out with or without the cooperation of the authorities in those countries.

Off the Top of My Head

If Republican Voters Want the Infrastructure Bill, Why Don't Republican Lawmakers?

by John Lawrence, April 12, 2021

Is this a failure of representative democracy? Polls show that a majority of Republican voters support Biden's infrastructure plan including the "care" components thereof. Yet Republican Senators are dead set against it, and the bill will probably not garner one Republican vote. It can still pass the Senate based on budget reconciliation which only requires a majority vote as long as all Democrats vote for it. Other Biden proposals involving voter's rights and gun control would require at least 10 Republican votes in the Senate under the current rules which involve the filibuster for non-budgetary items. In a representative democracy, a party should represent its voters. Otherwise, you don't really have a representative democracy which the US purports itself to be. So at present the US is in the position of being a government swerving back and forth from a representative democracy as long as Democrats control both Houses of Congress and the Presidency and a dictatorship of an elite when Republicans control either party or the Presidency.

The same applies to other issues like gun control, voter's rights and immigration which aren't subject to budgetary reconciliation and must garner 60 votes in the Senate. One of the minimum elements of democracy is majority rule. Because the filibuster is anti-majoritarian, this leaves the American democracy in the position of not really being a democracy at all in terms of non-budgetary items. So the US is on its way to being an authoritarian regime if Republicans control the Presidency and both Houses of Congress. All that would be necessary is a President like Trump with authoritarian tendencies. Then the US government becomes a government that's all about the use of power to get its way internationally and domestically, not about making the world a better place. Unfortunately, this leaves the US in the eyes of other nations as being untrustworthy since there is no consistent policy going forward. Other countries have more consistent leadership and hence are considered more trustworthy.

China, on the other hand, has very consistent policies going far into the future. China isn't perfect but most of the Chinese people and the leadership are on the same wavelength. US leadership likes to make a big deal of the plight of the Uyghurs, a Chinese minority that represents less than 1% of the Chinese population. So it's pretty remarkable that the only problem China seems to have with a minority that resents Chinese leadership  is with a minority that composes 0.31% of the population. The US should be so lucky yet the US harps on the Chinese over this situation of which little is actually know by the western world. China has pilled 800 million people out of poverty since 1990, one of the outstanding feats in human history, yet the US leadership continues to harp about the Uyghurs while giving no credit to China on poverty reduction. During the same time period the wages of US workers has stagnated. Kishore Mahbubani, author of the book, "Has China Won" writes: "In contrast to America's stagnation, China's culture, self-concept, and morale are being transformed at a rapid pace - mostly for the better." Rather than China's recent success being an assessment of the comparative values of Marxist-Leninist doctrines vis a vis American democracy, The Chinese Communist Party could more appropriately be called the Chinese Civilization Party since it reflects the 2000 year history of China more than it does Communist ideology.

So the response of the US to the progress of China in the last 30 years, instead of congratulating them on their remarkable accomplishments, is to be fearful that China is getting ahead of us. Well, duh, if you compare a society that is mostly all on the same wavelength and making remarkable steps forward with one that is divided and experienced a certain segment almost accomplishing a coup d'etat in a recent insurrection which threatened the lives of lawmakers in the seat of democracy itself. However, rather than viewing the world situation as a competition between the US and China, a more fruitful approach would be to cooperate with China with regard to climate change and pandemics, two things that affect the whole world and which require fast action, not a lackadaisical approach in which maybe we'll cooperate down the road, but in the meantime we have to compete. There's no time for that. The planet earth has almost passed an inflection point after which there will be no more time available.

Off the Top of My Head

The Toxicity of True Believers

by John Lawrence, December6, 2015

People believe things for a variety of reasons. If there are no facts, people will believe whatever they want probably with no or few consequences. But people will also believe the opposite thing even when facts are available. Sometimes this is harmless, and sometimes it's dangerous. For instance, Hitler spread the conspiracy theory that in fact Germans had not lost the First World War. Instead they were sold out by Jews and Social Democrats. Germans could be losers in contradistinction to the facts. Likewise, Donald Trump could not have lost the election despite the facts. What is scary is that a lot of Germans believed Hitler, and a lot of Americans believe Trump. There are also similarities with the Spanish Civil War which happened because Franco didn't accept the outcome of a democratic election, and a lot of Spaniards went along with him.

The problem is that Americans have not been taught by their educational system to think critically, to not accept something that isn't fact based as the truth. Instead, many people, especially those that are religious, are taught that it is more important to believe things which are unknown rather than take the attitude of skepticism until all the facts are in. How many times do the votes in Georgia need to be recounted before Georgians will accept the fact that Trump lost the election in Georgia? It's not hard to understand why the right wing of the Republican party is willing to believe Trump's lies in contradistinction of the facts. They are by and large the true believers of evangelical Christianity which maintains the belief that the essence of the Gospel consists of the doctrine of salvation by faith or correct belief. Evangelicals believe in the centrality of the conversion or "born again" experience in receiving salvation, in the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity, and in spreading the Christian message. In other words right wing religious Christians who are mainly Protestants, have firmly rooted belief systems. They have been taught that believing in something is more important than a rational consideration of the facts.

Max Weber's book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a study of the relationship between the ethics of ascetic Protestantism and the emergence of the spirit of modern capitalism. Protestantism represented a shift from the social Gospel of Catholicism which maintained that doing good for others was the pathway to salvation to an ethic that believing was the way. Thus, if you believed correctly, you were more likely to get into heaven than if you believed incorrectly. Your salvation had nothing to do with helping other people. Therefore, you were free to profit financially without responsibility to anyone else. This is the essence of capitalism. But also it inculcates the belief that beliefs in and of themselves are more important than a rational assessment of facts.Some people would call this brainwashing. Brainwashing is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques and is said to reduce its subjects' ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes, values and beliefs.

People that are subject to brainwashing in the religious sense are also vulnerable to being brainwashed in the political sense. There have been true believers in communism, for example, as well as true believers in capitalism. When people haven't been taught how to think critically, they are vulnerable to becoming true believers in whatever some charismatic leader tells them whether it's a charismatic evangelist or a charismatic political figure such as Hitler, Mussolini, Franco or Donald Trump. The fact that many of Trump's true believers numbering perhaps in the tens of millions believe him when he says that the election was rigged and that he really won the election and that the election results should be overturned represents a dangerous retreat from democratic values in the same way that Hitler's rise overturned the democratic values of the Weimar Republic. It is important to remember that Hitler came to power within the constitutional framework of the democratic Weimar Republic.

Hitler stood for Germany first just as Trump stands for America first. In Hitler's framework only true Germans, meaning non-Jews and non-immigrants should be allowed to exist in Germany. Similarly, Trump represents white Americans who are against immigrants and non-Americans who in their mind are everybody who is not a descendant of white Europeans. Trump is not giving up. His true believers have a profound belief that the election was rigged and that Trump really won despite the factual reality that he lost. Trump and his followers cannot accept defeat and losing. He has always disparaged losers of which, arguably, he is now one of them. Trump's strategy was to get his case considered by the Supreme Court of which he has appointed three of the Justices in the belief that they would remain loyal to him and overturn the results of the election. He has even broached the idea of declaring military law while appointing Trump loyalists in critical positions within the Pentagon. He is attempting in every way possible to create a coup d'etat which would result effectively in a Trump dictatorship and the end of democratic constitutionalism in the United States.

Off the Top of My Head

Many Essential Workers are Undocumented

by John Lawrence, September 12, 2020

Trump said: "When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. ... They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists." Guess what else they are? Essential workers. Most essential agricultural workers are undocumented. Immigrant field workers have been told to keep working despite stay-at-home directives, and given letters attesting to their “critical” role in feeding the country. They live in fear of being deported despite the fact that America now calls them "heroes." Heroes work here, and most of them are undocumented. They are ordered to go to work and risk getting COVID for minimum wages. What's wrong with this picture. Trump is in effect saying well OK you can stay for now as long as you keep picking our vegetables and packing our meat.

The New York Times reported:

For many workers, the fact that they are now considered both illegal and essential is an irony that is not lost on them, nor is it for employers who have long had to navigate a legal thicket to maintain a work force in the fields.

“It’s sad that it takes a health crisis like this to highlight the farmworkers’ importance,” said Hector Lujan, chief executive of Reiter Brothers, a large family-owned berry grower based in Oxnard, Calif., that also has operations in Florida and the Pacific Northwest.

Mr. Lujan, whose company employs thousands of field workers, described them as unsung heroes for guaranteeing that Americans have food security.

“Maybe one of the benefits of this crisis is that they are recognized and come out of the shadows,” said Mr. Lujan, whose company has been lobbying Congress to pass a bill that would legalize immigrant farmworkers.

About half of all crop hands in the United States, more than one million, are undocumented immigrants, according to the Agriculture Department. Growers and labor contractors estimate that the share is closer to 75 percent.

In addition to picking our vegetables and packing our meat, undocumented workers are also employed heavily in the construction and leisure and hospitality industries. They are building houses and cleaning hotel rooms in large numbers. So far from being a crisis in illegal immigration as Trump suggests, undocumented workers are keeping what remains of the US economy running in the age of COVID and taking chances with their lives in doing so. Oh and by the way they pay American taxes with no hope of ever getting social security. So when is Trump going to put up a big sign on his "wall" that says "Thank you Mexican workers for bailing out the US economy and keeping the food chain up and running."

Pew Research Center estimates that about 11.3 million people are currently living in the U.S. without authorization, down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007. More than half come from Mexico, and about 15 percent come from other parts Latin America. CBS News reported:

Further studies show that the importance of this population of workers will only grow in coming years. For example, in 2014, unauthorized immigrants made up 24 percent of maids and cleaners, an occupation expected to need 112,000 more workers by 2024. In construction, the number of additional laborers needed is estimated at close to 150,000. And while only 4 percent of personal care and home health aides are undocumented, the U.S. will soon require more than 800,000 people to fill the jobs necessary to take care of retiring baby boomers.

So Trump can demonize "illegal aliens" all he wants to gain political points. Let's see his supporters who are irate about losing their jobs go to work in the fields picking vegetables and working in meat packing plants after all the undocumented workers are sent back to Mexico. And after he has exacerbated the relationship with China where American corporations have sent all the American manufacturing jobs, let's see if Americans will still have access to all the products they consume which are manufactured there. It sure didn't help that in the initial stages of the pandemic critical supplies were unavailable because most of them were manufactured in China. Antagonizing essential workers in the American economy as well as the US' major trading partner will only land up the US in a pickle in which not only food but consumer goods might be unavailable in the future.

Warnings of 'Dire Humanitarian Impact' as Trump Finalizes Rule to Punish Immigrants for Using Public Benefits

Published on Monday, August 12, 2019

by Common Dreams

"Trump's public charge rule is a xenophobic and classist attack on immigrants."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

1 Comments

Thousands of advocates, activists, and community members flooded the streets at Foley Square in New York City on July 12, 2019. (Photo: Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The Trump administration on Monday finalized a rule that could deny permanent residency—or "green cards"—to immigrants who have received public benefits such as food stamps and housing assistance, a move rights groups condemned as an attack on low-income families that could have "a dire humanitarian impact."

"This latest racially-motivated policy is a painful reminder that behind Donald Trump's bluster, bureaucrats like Stephen Miller will stop at nothing to attack immigrants and destroy our legal immigration system."
—Marielena Hincapié, National Immigration Law Center

 

According to CBS News, the long-anticipated policy "would require caseworkers to consider the use of government housing, food, and medical assistance such as the widely-used Section 8 housing vouchers, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Medicare's Part D prescription drug coverage" when examining permanent residency applications.

The 837-page rule (pdf), CBS reported, "would subject immigrant households who fall below certain income thresholds to the 'public charge' test—which would also consider how well applicants speak, read, and write English. Under the proposed rule, any diagnosed medical condition that requires extensive medical treatment would also 'weigh heavily' in evaluations by caseworkers."

Immigrant rights groups that denounced the plan when it was first unveiled in September raised alarm on Monday and vowed to take legal action against the Trump administration to stop the rule, which is now set to take effect in 62 days.

Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, called the regulation "a cruel new step toward weaponizing programs that are intended to help people by making them, instead, a means of separating families and sending immigrants and communities of color one message: you are not welcome here."

"This latest racially-motivated policy is a painful reminder that behind [President] Donald Trump's bluster, bureaucrats like [top adviser] Stephen Miller will stop at nothing to attack immigrants and destroy our legal immigration system," Hincapié said in a statement. "It will have a dire humanitarian impact, forcing some families to forego critical life-saving healthcare and nutrition. The damage will be felt for decades to come."

BREAKING: the Trump admin just finalized its "public charge" rule—a race motivated wealth test on immigrant families seeking a healthy, stable future in the US. If this goes into effect, it would have a devastating impact on millions.

We WILL fight back. Stay tuned for updates. https://t.co/o0ONPqPBLu

— National Immigration Law Center (@NILC) August 12, 2019

Advocacy organizations and legal experts have warned that the Trump administration's rule—which the New York Times described as a "top priority" of Miller—could force low-income immigrants to choose between vital public assistance programs and the security of permanent residency.

As The Associated Press reported, rights groups are also "concerned the rules give too broad an authority to decide whether someone is likely to need public assistance at any time, giving immigration officials the ability to deny legal status to more people."

On Twitter, the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) called the policy a "bald-faced attack on immigrant families" and vowed to resist.

"Trump's public charge rule is a xenophobic and classist attack on immigrants," said NYIC. "It won't go into effect until October 15, and we'll keep fighting it so all immigrants can lead healthy and safe lives."

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Off the Top of My Head

The Search for a Comprehensive Immigration Plan

by John Lawrence, August 12, 2019

A reasonable comprehensive immigration plan would consist of 3 parts: 1) who and how many to let into the country legally; 2) what to do with illegals who are already residing in the US and 3) border security. It might be a good idea to look at the immigration policies of other countries to see how they do it since some other countries seem to be more rational than the US when it comes to immigration and a whole lot else. Switzerland, for example, only lets in people they need in the labor force. Canada has 4 classes of people: 1) close members of families already living in Canada; 2) skilled workers and businessmen (^i.e. those with money); 3) refugees and 4) people accepted for humanitarian reasons.

Elizabeth Warren's immigration package is largely a reaction to Trump's policies. She would just be more humane about treating illegals. Her policy says nothing about border protection. Cory Booker has a similar plan eliminating criminal prosecution for illegal immigrants. Again his plan says nothing about border security. It's all about a reaction to Trump's inhumane treatment of illegals. While these ideas offer more humane treatment for illegal border crossers, they say nothing about border security or preventing illegal border crossings in the first place. They would also be more lenient on persons who had put down roots here even though they crossed illegally. This is probably a good idea. If a person or family has established itself here, has a job or jobs and especially have had children born here, then they should be given some kind of legal status if not full citizenship. A green card, a work permit, a visa or some temporary legal status makes sense.

The most important question to ask, however, is why is the border like a sieve? Why is it that so many can cross illegally in the first place? If they couldn't cross illegally in the first place, then all the arguments about detention centers go away. Here's my take on this phenomenon of a sieve like border. The border could be made absolutely secure if the resources were devoted to securing it. Why aren't they? Because the military budget (which doesn't contain border security) is sucking all the economic air out of the room. You would think that the primary responsibility of the military would be to protect our borders, but the military has no responsibility at all to protect our borders. In fact they are forbidden supposedly by the Posse Comitatus Act from protecting our borders. How ridiculous! I'm not saying they should be shooting illegal border crossers. I'm saying that a good percentage of the military and military-industrial complex budget should be devoted to protecting out borders.

What would gold plated border protection look like? The military has the most advanced electronic surveillance systems in the world. So use those satellites, computers, cameras and radars to electronically surveil the border. Assign beefed up manpower as necessary to protect the border. US Customs and Border Protection should be powered up both in terms of budget and manpower while the military should be proportionately scaled down. The Department of Homeland Security budget of approximately $50 billion is pathetically small compared to the military budget which approaches $1 trillion. So who are the leaders of our country trying to fool? The truth is that a gold plated border protection system which would reduce illegal entries to zero could be had for probably one tenth of the military budget. So what is more important - protecting our borders or engaging in wars of choice around the world which so far have produced negative results in every war since WW II. We hear about 5G and Artificial Intelligence. Why not apply those technologies to border protection.

I'm for letting the Dreamers stay and not forcing family separation. I'm also for gold plated border security and a system of legal immigration similar to the Canadians. The Democrats better get on board with border protection because, if they leave this subject to the Republicans, they'll lose. If they appear to be for open borders, they lose. So don't be just a reaction to Trump. Innovate with your own ideas and make it clear you want both a humane and a rational immigration policy. Their ideas of devoting more economic support to Central American countries to alleviate the suffering of people there, which has largely been created by American policies of the past, is also a necessary step and a good one.

Off the Top of My Head

China and the US: Cohesiveness VS Divisiveness

by John Lawrence, August 7, 2019

Obama famously said, "We are not the blue states of America and the red states of America. We are the United States of America." I'm sorry Mr. Obama, but you are wrong, wrong, wrong. We are the Disunited States of America. China, on the other hand, moves forward seemingly with one unified agenda and with one voice. Maybe that's because they're a one party state. Maybe that's because they've cultivated and nurtured a unified people. Maybe because they're followers of Confucius. Maybe it's because they don't tolerate any dissension. I don't know. All I know is whatever they're doing, it's working. Meanwhile, the US political system is in gridlock.

Many of the problems inherent in the US today are solvable if the country and its leaders spoke with one mind. But the two party system has created a broad chasm and has led to gridlock. Take immigration policy for example. There is just no agreement because each party has its own agenda. There is no unification. There is such a thing as a rational immigration party on which a majority of the people could agree. But the leaders of the Republican party don't want a rational immigration policy. They want to leave the whole subject of immigration up in the air so they can make political hay out of it. It serves their interests not to solve the problem of immigration.

As one element of immigration policy that both parties could agree upon, let's take border security. Most people would agree that a secure border is desirable. A secure border is certainly possible with not even state of the art technology. The border could be secured with the technology found in most present day cars - radars and cameras. So why aren't they doing it? Answer is simple: there's no money in it. It would seem that the primary responsibility of the military would be to protect the nation's borders. However, the Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law signed on June 18, 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes. The purpose of the act – in concert with the Insurrection Act of 1807 – is to limit the powers of the federal government in using federal military personnel to enforce domestic policies within the United States. It has been interpreted as removing the Army and Air Force from any responsibility of protecting US borders, but my interpretation is that this was not the original intent of the act.

The military doesn't want to be involved with protecting the borders because it could be done so cheaply and with a very limited (but substantially increased) number of personnel. No the military is about multibillion dollar aircraft carriers and multibillion dollar airplanes. The USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier costs more than $13 billion and that's just to build it, not to maintain it. Here's an example of how the US and China do business. Each has developed an advanced aircraft with similar capabilities. The American F-22 production was axed because of its high cost - US$62 billion for the whole project, which equates to US $339 million per aircraft. The Chinese J-20's research and development cost was estimated to be more than 30 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion), with a cost per aircraft of US$100-110 million. So the US accomplished its goal of spending multiples of billions of dollars and then scrapping the airplane. China's costs were much cheaper and they actually have an advanced airplane at their disposal.

So border security would be a trivially expensive problem to solve if the military actually did their job and protected the borders but .. it's not their job, man. Their job is to spend billions and billions of dollars on advanced weaponry whether or not it is ever fully functional. Meanwhile, Republicans have a political football they can toss around and work up the racists. Solving the immigration problem would deprive them of that.

So freedom has produced gridlock and Chinese philosophy has produced a society that moves forward with more or less one voice and one agenda. One of Confucius' teachings was a variant of the Golden Rule, sometimes called the "Silver Rule" owing to its negative form: "What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others." Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. Confucius asserts that virtue is a mean between extremes. For example, the properly generous person gives the right amount—not too much and not too little. While the Chinese have adopted a superior variant of capitalism, they remain politically a one party system, a one philosophy system. They have free elections at the local level, and then those leaders select the leaders at the next higher level and so on. The US political system had gotten us to the point where no problem is solvable not because it's inherently unsolvable but because our political leaders in one party, namely the Republican party, are in a position to block any solutions, and it is in their political interests to do so.

Freedom has culminated in gridlock, and an unlimited Second Amendment has culminated in mass shootings. I don't think China would tolerate these outcomes. Instead they are moving ahead with their Belt and Road Initiative peacefully building infrastructure throughout the world at the same time that the US is trying to control the world with its outsized military and the threat of sanctions. The US threatens a country's economic development by the use of sanctions; China is ameliorating economic development by building infrastructure around the world. Which country has the more humane policies?

Off the Top of My Head

The Immigration Crisis and Security at the Border

by John Lawrence, April 8, 2019

Since Trump was elected President, Central American smugglers have handed him a victory in the sense that they have confirmed recently his main issue. While illegal immigration wasn't a crisis when Trump was running on that issue, it has since become one. Smugglers are organizing bus loads of people in Guatemala who are paying up to $7000. per person for a rapid and safe bus ride to the American border. It's called "The Conveyor Belt." Democrats had better take this issue seriously and not just hand it to Trump as a campaign issue. Their attitude has been "this is Trump's issue and it's a phony one." I've got news for Democrats. It's a real issue and one that deserves to be taken seriously.

Illegal immigration is taking place all over the world and not just at the southern US border. They are immigrating from Africa by way of Libya into Europe. Some of therm dump their passports in the Mediterranean before they are taken into custody so that it will take longer to process them, and there's nowhere they can be deported to. Immigration from poverty stricken and violent countries to prosperous ones will continue to take place as desperate people figure they have nothing to lose by risking their lives to get to a better place.

In the case of the US, some of the caravans from Honduras and El Salvador are organized by Pueblo Sin Fronteras, a church group out of humanitarian concerns. The immigrants from Guatemala are usually trafficked by human smugglers by rapid buses taking only about 4 days to reach the American border in relatively safe and comfortable conditions. The money is often paid to the smugglers by relatives in the US.

Democrats have pooh-poohed Trump's efforts to make a big deal out of the illegal immigration situation and border security. But, it turns out, it has become a verifiable big deal. Human traffickers are making more money now smuggling humans than they did smuggling drugs, and the penalties are nowhere near as harsh if they get caught. Democrats ignore this issue at their own peril. The Washington Post reported:

Paying up to $7,000 per adult with child, families are transported to staging areas at ranches and hotels in southern Mexico, where they are organized into bus groups and rushed north along Mexican highways, “stopping only for food, fuel and bathroom breaks,” according to the U.S. law enforcement documents....

Within 72 hours of leaving the staging areas, the buses arrive at predetermined drop-off points within walking distance of the U.S. border. Migrant families are clustered into groups that have at times exceeded 300 adults and children, and they walk directly across the border, in some cases stepping over barriers in long, orderly lines. They then surrender to U.S. Border Patrol agents and initiate asylum claims.

The asylum system is overwhelmed; it was never meant to handle hundreds if not thousands of immigrants at a time. The US does not have enough facilities to hold these people at detention centers so they are often given a court date many months in the future and let go. Most of them never show up for the court date, thereby achieving success at gaining entry into the US. This is a sophisticated and  highly profitable entrepreneurial operation that is designed to exploit dysfunction in the American immigration system and U.S. court rulings that mandate families be released from custody while their asylum claims are processed. Who would have thunk it? Trump turns out to have been right! Democrats better stop being wishy-washy and do their best to co-opt this issue from Trump. They continue their present stance at their peril in 2020.

The Washington Post continues:

By using the direct-bus method, smugglers can eliminate the need for stash houses along the border where they would normally keep migrants under the watch of armed guards before sneaking them across the border. The express routes “minimize overhead and maximize capacity,” according to the U.S. documents, allowing smugglers to reduce “operational costs to a minimum.”

Since October, U.S. border agents have encountered at least 70 large groups of 100 or more migrants, up from 13 such groups during fiscal 2018. Approximately 12,000 parents and children have arrived in the groups, generating tens of millions of dollars in smuggling fees.

U.S. officials call the system “The Conveyor Belt” and have asked Mexican authorities to help stop it. But the conveyor pattern has continued for months, part of a record-breaking surge in crossings by families that the White House has declared a “humanitarian and border security crisis.” Last month, 40,325 arrived in family groups, up 67 percent from January.

Border arrests peaked at 1.6 million in 2000 and began to decline, falling to 303,000 in 2017, the lowest point in half a century. But Homeland Security officials say they are on pace to encounter nearly 1 million unauthorized border crossers during the current fiscal year, as arrests reach their highest level in more than a decade.

The influx has left U.S. border security “at a breaking point,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan told reporters this month...

Recruiters are selling clients in Guatemala on the journey with presentations akin to the benign pitch of a travel agency. They offer a range of price points at different levels of passenger comfort, according to U.S. and Guatemalan officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details about smuggling networks’ operations.

Where the migrants enter the US is not decided by the migrants themselves but by the highly professional smugglers who look for the best places to quickly deliver large numbers of their clients to U.S. agents. "The mass “give-ups” let migrants skip lines at official points of entry, and they can await processing on the U.S. side of the border, where it’s safer. The pattern has become so routine that U.S. officials say some large groups form their own queues as they present their documents to agents, as if they were waiting in the arrival hall of an international airport."

“They line up as if it’s some kind of regular immigration process, in single file, like they’re checking in,” according to one U.S. official, “It’s unbelievable.”

With the swelling arrest numbers, calls for a border wall have intensified. But in recent weeks, large groups have crossed in areas near central El Paso, where tall, modern steel barriers are already in place. Wading through shallow stretches of the Rio Grande, the migrants reach U.S. soil and wait to be taken into custody on the narrow strip of no man’s land between the river and the border fence.

The point is that 1) this is a real problem that needs to be dealt with. 2) Trump is not always wrong; in fact he's more right than wrong on this issue, and 3) Democrats better change their tune and not let Trump exploit this issue for his own political advantage.

Off the Top of My Head

Crisis at the Border? It Depends How You Define Crisis

by John Lawrence, March 6, 2019

Last month more than 76,000 migrants crossed the border without authorization, an 11-year high and a strong sign that stepped-up prosecutions, new controls on asylum and harsher detention policies have not worked to stem the tide of illegal border crossers. This corroborates my discussion with a border patrol agent whom I picked up driving for Uber. Most of those coming are families making it more difficult to accommodate them. The facilities and humans dealing with this situation are at or beyond their breaking points. More than 50,000 adults are currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, the highest number ever. Arrests along the southern border have increased 97 percent since last year, the Border Patrol said. Does Trump have a point? You bet he does. Is a wall the solution? Probably not.

Unauthorized border crossings have doubled what they were a year ago. It is more profitable to smuggle humans in than to smuggle cocaine. Smugglers and facilitators have spread the word that families with children can get into the US. That is by and large true as the US does not have the facilities to detain these families and properly care for the children in detention. As a result they are not properly processed and given a court date many months in the future which they likely will not show up for. Voila!. They've made it to El Norte. “The system is well beyond capacity, and remains at the breaking point,” Kevin K. McAleenan, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said.

The New York Times reported:

The nation’s top border enforcement officer painted a picture of processing centers filled to capacity, border agents struggling to meet medical needs and thousands of exhausted members of migrant families crammed into a detention system that was not built to house them — all while newcomers continue to arrive, sometimes by the busload, at the rate of 2,200 a day.

“This is clearly both a border security and a humanitarian crisis,” Mr. McAleenan said. ...

[In the last few months] at least 70 such groups of 100 or more people have turned themselves in at Border Patrol stations that typically are staffed by only a handful of agents, often hours away from civilization. By comparison, only 13 such groups arrived in the last fiscal year, and two in the year before.

Whether or not you think that 2200 people per day arriving by the busload is a crisis that the US should be concerned about, the  lack of proper processing facilities and overworked border agents is definitely that. Personally, I think the system is broken and massive resources need to be transferred from the military-industrial complex budget of a trillion dollars a year to fix it. These people need to be properly processed and illegal immigration going on today right under Trump's base's nose needs to be stopped. The whole asylum system is fatally flawed. The combination of providing a legal right to apply for asylum along with a system that is incapable of handling the demand is a formula for catastrophe.

The problem at root is that living conditions in Central America, where many are being forced off their farms due to climate change, are intolerable. Also violence is ever present in areas that are riddled with poverty, and it's increasingly more difficult to make an honest living. One of the last remaining lucrative professions is getting people and drugs over the border. Therefore, the whole system needs to be rethunk, and an adequate amount of resources need to be redirected to deal with this problem. Rather than invading Venezuela, the US should invade those countries where the gangs operate - Guatemala and Honduras -  and take them out. Take out the source of drugs at their root. In addition the US needs to provide economic aid to families so that their economy is properly functioning. If it were, there would be no incentive to come here in droves.

It's a two way street, folks. Sure we need enhanced border security both in human and physical terms, but we also need to reduce the incentives for illegal immigration at their root and those incentives are poverty and violence.  By the way a wall won't help because most illegal crossers come across at a port of entry and simply ask for asylum.

Off the Top of My Head

Ask a Border Patrol Agent If There's an Invasion at the Border

by John Lawrence, February 25, 2019

As an Uber and Lyft driver, I get to meet and talk to a lot of interesting people like the Border Patrol agent I picked up yesterday. He said the largest number of illegals crossing the border are Indians. Next are Chinese, but there are people from all over the world, Syria, for example, trying to get into the US. Whereas it used to be a trickle, now it's a flood. He said the Chinese pay 20 to 30 grand to a smuggler to get them in. If they catch them, we the taxpayers have to pay for a flight back to China for them. As for the Latin American and South American people, males are immediately deported. They can't just cross and seek asylum. Females with children seeking asylum are given a court date way off in the future because the courts are so overloaded, handed $20 and turned out to the streets. Most of them never show up for their court dates and simply melt into American society like they've been doing for years.

Why aren't the Congress persons and the media interviewing actual border patrol agents who are the boots on the ground with regard to the illegal immigrant situation? Why not get real information instead of fake news and fake imaginings from both sides. Is it an "invasion"? Depends on your definition of invasion. Is more than a trickle an invasion? Are hundreds of people trying to cross the border in a single day and seeking asylum an invasion? Each side in this situation has their own probably unverified position. Trump has a point that many people are trying to cross the border illegally, many more than used to do it, and they're all seeking asylum, that is the ones that get caught. If they don't get caught, they just melt into American society. As of the present time, if you're a male seeking asylum, forget it. You'll be deported immediately according to the agent I picked up.

That's why males trying to enter the country are going to places where the border security is weak like the mountains and the desert and are just trying to cross undetected. The border patrol agent related a story about three Chinese who were being smuggled in secret compartments in a truck. Their plan was to get out just before the border checkpoint at San Clemente and then cross over the mountains through Camp Pendleton. Their plan would have worked except for the fact that on that particular day the Marines were conducting artillery practice right in that location. The Chinese guys, not wanting to get shot, turned themselves in, and there went $20,000 to $30,000 a person down the drain. American taxpayers paid for them to be deported to China. At that rate human smuggling is much more profitable than smuggling cocaine, and the penalties are less severe if the smuggler is caught.

So the problem is not that MS13 gangs are getting into the US. The problem is that people from all over the world who have access to the internet and realize what glorious lives Americans live in comparison to their pathetic lives in whatever as Trump said "shithole" country they're from, they're willing to risk everything to come here. People are on the move all over the world to get into some advanced country in either the US, Canada or Europe in order to have a better life. They are all refugees in a sense. Many are from war torn parts of the world, but many are simply economic refugees seeking a better life. Maybe the US and Europe should be doing something about improving conditions for the poor all over the world and not just supporting right wing dictators which is the neocon policy of guys like Bolton and Pompeo. The economic divide is growing wider all over the world, not just here in the US.

What I Learned Being Part of the Sanctuary Caravan: Delivering Support to Asylum Seekers on the U.S. Border

We saw an outpouring of generosity for the people most hurt by our oppressive immigration policy. By Jodie Evans December was the month CODEPINK: Growing a Local Peace Economy was dedicating our outreach and organizing to being an ally for the asylum seekers who had just arrived in and around Tijuana below the U.S. San Diego border. CODEPINK’s Local Peace Economy was created to focus on the disasters that will occur as a result of global inequality, climate change, constant war. Not to mention all the money that funds war (including $1.4 trillion in weapons sold each year) that should be alleviating human suffering instead of creating it. We have gathered every month for the past few years, learning about the values of a peace economy, practicing them together, deepening our relationship and trust, and weaving a community of those who invest their time and energy in the practices of peace locally. Last month, we reached out to our friends to ask for donations supporting asylum seekers, and the outpouring of generosity that resulted was overwhelming. By overwhelming, I mean we started as the idea of a few cars driving down to take what we collect. But as four rooms at my home and the CODEPINK house filled, we realized we needed a truck. We learned from others that taking that much across the border would be taxed, so we reached out for more cars to help us ferry all we collected across the border. It took five hours to organize the donations and fill the truck on Friday night at the end of December. At 8:00 am on Saturday our caravan of support headed south. People trusted us with their generous support, so we were very careful to research and make sure it got where it was most needed. In the process, we learned how much is given and how much is needed. We are part of the coalition Sanctuary Caravan, an amazing organization that works as a hub of information and connection for asylum seekers. Those who have free time, however long—a few days, a week, a month—can connect immediately to efforts to help asylum seekers. The situation in Tijuana is always in motion. Supporting almost 10,000 people in a process that is long, legal, complex and set up to fail for them is no easy task. Each story is powerful, heart-wrenching and complicated. Because we had done a collection and were not coming down to volunteer, we decided not to burden the Sanctuary Caravan team and instead would figure things out ourselves. Arriving at the border, we learned about Op Carrito/granny cart. This is a group of 91 volunteers who work on both sides of the border to get supplies across and to those who need them. People show up in a parking lot at the pedestrian entrance and others with granny carts fill them up and cross, back and forth, with those working the Tijuana side there to pick up and deliver. It is beautiful. Generous. And a peace economy. We filled up six cars and headed across; Shauna, who lives in San Diego and was part of the early days of CODEPINK in Minnesota, took all the food as there is constant and desperate need for food. She knew just where to deliver it. The rest of us crossed and met at Enclave Caracol, a hub for those in need and those offering. Read more about them in Kelly’s blog. At Enclave you get a glimpse of how much there is to do and how much is being coordinated. Volunteers arrive from around the world and are dispatched. Locals serve as translators and guides. We were assigned Monica, who immediately went to work finding out the morning intelligence on who needed what. Clothes were needed at El Barretal, which is 45 minutes south, at a concert venue where about 5,000 of the asylum seekers are outside in tents. A local Tijuana resident—Angie, a transplant from Oklahoma—drove the clothes down as we needed to do deliveries nearby to get across the border for another batch. Little did we know that crossing the border was a multi-hour experience. With the heartbreaking sight of women and children begging outside our windows for the hours, we crawled along. We were all crying as we met at the U-Haul. We loaded up with what we learned was needed at the youth center; they had 40 boys and needed blankets and coats. Cars filled to the brim, we set out again. GPS is sketchy in Tijuana, so we drove around lost for 45 minutes and finally connected with our guide Paula Kahn, former CODEPINK team member who helped produce the Iraq Tribunal. Paula has been in Tijuana for the entire month. She guided us to a delicious place for dinner and mescal. Our first meal of the day we finally felt nourished, and all three cars headed to the boys. It was late but they were excited to let us in and quickly unloaded the supplies with joy and hugs for all. There are too many sad stories from these boys to share here, and it’s not my place to do so, but they captured our hearts. The next morning we were up at 7 to pack up for the next border cross, thinking that early would be easier. But it was still a long wait; this time those begging or offering wares at our windows had stories of being from the U.S. and the victims of ICE. No money, no way to get a job and families to feed. We arrived at the U-Haul parked at Denny’s, cleaned out our cars of anything personal, and filled them to the brim with the last load, mostly toys for kids, coats, socks, medicines, toiletries and blankets. There was a shout out early in the morning from San Diego Rapid Response that they were in desperate need for clothes for the 159 coming out of ICE later in the day, so we left the clothes behind in the truck. We arrived at Instituto Madre in a neighborhood on a hill. We were greeted with excitement and open arms. We learned that 40 families had just left for the ICE holding in San Diego, so there were only 80 families now, but the facility is meant for 40. The women and children living there were in need of everything. But the toys were the biggest hit with the kids and the jackets with the mothers. It is cold at night, and we could see that warmth was a huge need. We stayed for about an hour, learning stories, getting interviews and watching the kids play. We had to get to the border in time to get the clothes in the truck to Our Lady of Guadalupe, the site ICE does the drop-off at north of the border. We moved our personal items, and I drove the truck to Our Lady. It was super organized. They were waiting for us; we had been in touch all day through the multitudes of Facebook and WhatsApp threads used to share information about the border activities. Volunteers were there to unload, and their thrill at the fact that we had new men’s shoes sent chills up my spine. I thought of the stories the Local Peace Economy members had shared about what they bought and why, and how the thoughtfulness was experienced by those receiving—how it is a continuum. Finally, the truck was totally empty, and all of it had made it into the hands of those who needed it. I thought about the practices of the peace economy—relational and not transactional—and how we who did the delivery were between two commitments of relationship. One was those whom we wanted to support directly; and then the other was those who had gone to the effort to collect what we asked for that filled the truck, who trusted us to deliver it as we had promised. All this in the month we were offering our 21 days of gifting peace and love. Midday Sunday we were trashed, but it was the commitment between both that kept us going with energy, laughter and enthusiasm. And it was the joy in those receiving that gave back to us the energy in the end. It was a reminder we are all connected, and when we give, there is a ripple between giver and receiver, and what remains is that power of connection and responsibility. Not as a burden, but as a way of life that is so nourishing. We all felt it. Sore backs, bandaged fingers and all. There are many stories we heard from those we met that they asked us not to share. They all feel very vulnerable: From the hell of El Barretal and 5,000 living in mud and cold with no water and little else, to the horror stories of rape and murder, to the stories of the hell inside of the ICE holding facility where they are kept for 4-9 days without showers or warmth and then released to Our Lady to the arms of so many volunteers, the first stop the clinic as most are sick and many with lice. After Kelly’s first trip, she asked what do we do for the heartache and PTSD after spending a few days there. I broke down today and cried for about an hour, without stopping. From the individual stories, we saw the systems of oppression and the effects of the war economy and wondered what kind of world we live in that we treat other human beings this way—all this juxtaposed to the amazing outpouring of generosity and support. Jodie Evans is an activist and co-founder of CODEPINK.

Off the Top of My Head

What's Happening With the "Caravan"?

by John Lawrence, December 3, 2018

I think the caravan has melted away. Some have gone back home. Some have decided to stay in Tijuana and work. However, thousands have been living in miserable conditions in a sports arena. Mexico is starting to resolve the immediate problem, but is the US at least helping? I don't think so.

My source in Tijuana told me that immigrants from Central and South America were always welcome to come to Tijuana and work. According to him Tijuana is a city of immigrants. Being close to the US, financial opportunities abound. He thought that the "caravan" was a put up job organized by Trump supporters whether of the American or Latin American variety. He said that private buses took them from the southern Mexican border to Tijuana. They didn't walk. The shortest route would have been to Texas, but Tijuana, being close to San Diego, was more of a media hub.

He thought that, since there is no civil war in Guatemala or Honduras, the threat to their safety and security was overdone. Poverty yes. They were trying to escape poverty, but that's no reason to go to the US and apply for asylum. Poverty isn't a reason to grant asylum at least according to present day laws. If it was, half the world would be coming to the US. In short the whole thing was a publicity stunt organized by someone or someones for God knows what purposes. The visuals of small children being tear gassed at the border did not have the hoped for effect of outrage in the same way that the visuals of children being separated from their parents on the US side and put in detention facilities did.

On Sunday, November 25, the US-Mexican border was shut down "for hours" at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The shopping center on the US side, the Las Americas Premium Outlets, located less than a mile west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry was shut down. Many Mexicans cross the border to shop there. A five-hour shutdown of the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego last Sunday cost local businesses $5.3 million in lost revenue, but officials say the impact of the border’s closing has reverberated to other industries that depend on the massive flow of people traveling to and from Tijuana. Think of the economic damage if the border was shut down not just for hours but for days as Trump threatened. My contact had a lot of business cancellations. Mexican people who rely on cross border business will be very upset if the border is ever shut down again even if just for hours.

Mexico just has an election and the left leaning government of Lopez Obrador won. He was just inaugurated December 1. The Washington Times reported:

In one of his first acts in office, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has signed an agreement with his counterparts from three Central American countries to establish a development plan to stem the flow of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S.

The Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the plan includes a fund to generate jobs in the region and aims to attack the structural causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Thousands of migrants, mostly Hondurans, have joined caravans in recent weeks in an effort to speed through Mexico to request refuge at the U.S. border.

Dozens of migrants interviewed by The Associated Press have said they are fleeing poverty and violence in their countries of origin.

So the migrant situation is about to change thanks to the actions taken by Mexico itself, thanks to the first left leaning President in decades. Will the US help with this situation or just sit back and enjoy the results? The solution, of course, is economic development in Central America. This disincentivizes migrants trying to get in to the US, and, hopefully, makes for a better life for them.

Meanwhile, a Democratic controlled US House of Representatives will take effect January 1, just as the new left leaning Mexican government gets started. What this portends for future US-Central American relations can only be described as hopeful. Perhaps some intelligent and principaled  people can do something about the immigration situation instead of just exploiting it for political purposes.

 

Off the Top of My Head

Disorder at the Border

by John Lawrence, November 27, 2018

Immigration should not be a political football stoking Trump's base and causing cries of shame among the Left. Now in addition to crying children separated from their parents, we have the visual of young children being tear gassed at San Ysidro. Let's get real, folks. Trump has a point and the Democrats should address that point. You can't have thousands of people charging the border to get across and seek asylum. There needs to be an orderly process for asylum seekers and getting into the US illegally and then asking for asylum is not it.

The asylum laws need to be changed for one thing. People should apply for asylum while remaining in their home country or they should apply for a visa, come here and then apply for asylum. Visa holders need to be tracked so they don't just simply overstay their visas like a lot do. Trump is right that the "catch and release" method of processing asylum seekers is a lost cause. People coming in illegally, then being caught, given a court date and then released doesn't work because many never show up for their court date. They just disappear into the vast sea of society.

The refugee crisis is a world wide event. As the earth shrinks in terms of habitable area due to climate change and as people from poorer countries gain access to the internet and realize how people live in rich countries and as continual wars wreak havoc and destruction, people from poorer countries and war ravaged nations want to get in. Europe has been relatively lenient in letting refugees in from war torn areas of the Middle East and Africa, many of whom are fleeing US caused wars and the results of those wars. Now Europe has a big problem with the rise of fascism because the local citizenry is rebelling against this policy of letting huge numbers of people in. It is creating real problems for them among which terrorism is probably the least.

The US has been relatively unscathed in the refugee problem so far, at least from Middle Eastern refugees. But let's give credit where credit is do. Trump has articulated a real problem for the US. Millions want to come here from Central America because we have a land border with Mexico and they want a better life regardless of the threat from gangs in their home country. Although I give Trump credit for recognizing this problem, I don't give him credit for politicizing it and uasing it as campaign fodder. But Democrats need to come to grip with this problem; Congress needs to come to grips with this problem. A real solution needs to be developed that doen't include building a wall or tear gassing babies. On the other hand you just can't let them all in. That would lead to the same social upheaval that Europe is experiencing.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican-American war in 1848 did not give Mexicans living in Mexico the right to move to the US. It gave Mexicans living in the territories ceded to the US (mainly Texas and the whole southwestern US) the right to remain and become American citizens although they had to declare their intentions within a year.

What the US should do is to give assistance to the peoples of Central America so they feel secure and safe in their own countries and do something to alleviate poverty there. Will the US do it? Not with Trump's attitude of "you're on your own, baby."

 

Off the Top of My Head

Making Sense of 'Asylum Seekers'

by John Lawrence, November 4, 2018

According to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees an asylum seeker is:

“A person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.”

Notice that the definition does not include people who fear they might be murdered because of non-cooperation with a drug gang, for instance, or people who are fleeing poverty. So it would seem that those coming from Honduras or Guatemala would not qualify prima facie.

The second thing is that a definition put forward in 1951 might not be applicable 68 years later. It seems that this definition would apply more to individuals who are critics of the regime of their native country, like a Jamal Khashoggi, or a social group like the Muslims who were persecuted by the Buddhists in Myanmar or the Yazidis in Iraq.

So say the asylum seeker gains entry to the US and applies for asylum at the border. The asylum process takes an average of six months. It is very difficult because the applicant might have to travel hundreds of miles to get to the location where they are processed. Trump has maintained that a majority of asylum seekers just never show up in court. They have gained entry into the US and they just melt away never to be heard from again if they are lucky. Ipso facto they become illegal aliens. Well, the facts are that a majority do show up in court, but a sizable minority do not. So thousands just melt away into society and live secret lives.

The alternative to trusting asylum seekers to show up in court is to detain them. But how can you detain thousands at a time if that many show up together with children especially. This is what caused the recent furor when children were separated from their parents in detention facilities. Anyway it is inhumane to treat asylum seekers as prisoners. However, granting them entry to the US while they wait for a hearing is problematic as well. When huge numbers of asylum seekers come at the same time, it could consume a lot of taxpayer resources just dealing with them only to not grant them asylum and send them back. Even sending them back is problematic. What do you do - escort them to the border?

It would be better if asylum seekers were processed outside the country to begin with rather than being granted entry into the country only to have them melt away into society especially if the large majority of them do not qualify as refugees. Under the present system being threatened by a gang or poverty do not qualify a person for refugee status in the US. Europe has created for itself immense problems, including the rise of fascist leaders, by accepting too many refugees. It is easy for any society to be so inundated by applicants for refugees status that the society itself is threatened.

So what is the solution? Stop them at the border as Trump suggests? Let them come in and tolerate a large number slipping away? A quota system? Let so many in and that's it? I think Trump has suggested processing them right at the border before they gain entry. Not a bad idea especially if the majority will not qualify for refugee status. Also I think that the US should take more responsibility for alleviating poverty and violent conditions in Central and South American countries so that people have security and prosperity in their home countries. Then they won't have to be asylum seekers or illegal immigrants.

Off the Top of My Head

Border Security: Is There a Sane Approach?

by John Lawrence, November 3, 2018

The issue of border security has been so politicized that it's hard to decipher what might be a meaningful approach to the subject. It has been made the linchpin of Trump's attempt to rally his base before the upcoming election. Congress has been in a state of total inaction regarding this and many other subjects. Let's take a look at the two extreme positions on the subject, and see where a line might be drawn that represents a realistic approach.

The extreme Left would like to have open borders. That is nobody would be checked at the border. Anyone could come in, perhaps after showing some ID. There would be no border patrol or quasi military people at the border trying to prevent illegal entry so illegals could come right in. The extreme Right would like a strong border that would prevent anyone form entering illegally. They wouldn't be satisfied until not one person could enter the country illegally. Obviously, that would require a strong commitment of resources.

Right off the bat I reject Trump's proposal of building a wall. I think that would be the most expensive and least effective solution. However, I have to give Trump credit in the fact that it is inconceivable that any American citizen would approve of anyone entering the country illegally. Trump is right that, if you have open borders, you don't really have a country. No European country lets people enter illegally if they can do anything about it. When trains cross borders in Europe, I know from personal experience that guards with loaded rifles get on the train and check everyone's passport even in the middle of the night!

I am in favor of strong border security. The question is - as always - how much do you want to pay for that? The US defense budget is already so bloated with hundreds of military bases located all over the world that I would not be in favor of spending even more money to beef up border security. However, I would be in favor of shutting down at least half of those bases, perhaps diminishing the current defense budget in other ways as well, and using that money to beef up border security. Why are we defending other countries when they have the resources to defend themselves? This is a point Trump has made that he has yet to follow through on and perhaps never will, but it is a valid point. The implication is that the US defense budget should be diminished and spent on other things, and yet Trump has only added to it.

I would be in favor of diminishing the current defense budget which is predicated on the fact of defending the whole world and using part of the money to defend our own borders which means I would be in favor of beefing up border security but in a smart way - no wall. This means additional resources should be employed at the border to make it impossible for anyone to gain access illegally. These would include electronic patrols from tower to tower, satellite surveillance, helicopter surveillance, rapid deployment teams similar to the SEALs, Coast Guard boat patrols in the Rio Grande, drone patrols etc etc. With the expertise the US has, it could secure the border 100% if it transferred resources for that effort and diminished resources going into defending other countries which could provide their own security.

But not only the land border with Mexico needs defending. The Coast Guard should be beefed up patrolling the coasts so that no one can gain access by sea. Ports of entry should have more sophisticated means to detect illegal persons and contraband being smuggled into the US. The border with Canada should be better secured as well. Surveillance of aircraft attempting to circumvent land or sea entry needs to be addressed. People coming in on visas need to be tracked to make sure they leave when they are supposed to.

The sad fact is that so much money has been devoted to high tech weapons systems and aircraft that the idea of protecting our borders has been given short shrift. There's more money to be made for defense contractors like Boeing in building high performance aircraft and high tech weapon systems than there is in the relatively less expensive devices that could be developed to protect our borders. So the emphasis on defense spending is on war fighting rather than defending our borders. If more attention were paid to border security and more resources allocated towards it, the flow of illegal contraband such as drugs could be stopped in its tracks. As it is, the US not only tolerates the influx of illegal people but illegal goods such as drugs as well. One other point is that the US should expedite the flow of legal traffic through ports of entry such as the land port at San Ysidro, the world's busiest border crossing. While stemming the flow of illegal people and goods, the flow of legal transborder people and goods should be expedited. This has been happening at San Ysidro where I cross frequently to see the dentist in Tijuana. My SENTRI card gets me over the border in a short time rather than having to wait for hours to cross the border as in olden days.

My main point is that resources should be taken away from the kind of defense systems that the US currently employs which is an attempt to patrol the whole world and given to beefed up border security defense.

Off the Top of My Head

Dysfunctional Congress Will Keep Arguing Over Border Wall While Ignoring Real Issue

by John Lawrence, Jul 30, 2018

Trump wants a border wall to appease his base, and he threatens to shut down the government to get one. Really? Is that the best use of resources to deal with the problem? What really even is the problem? The problem is illegal immigration. Let's just deal with just that. No American citizen, liberal or conservative, left or right, should want illegal immigration. Does anyone want open borders? Really? We should want zero illegal immigration, and then we can argue about how much legal immigration we want and from which countries. That is a legitimate argument.

That said, then it's clear that the resources deployed to prevent illegal immigration are inadequate. In a country that spends a trillion dollars a year on defense, we can't even prevent a few poor and desperate South and Middle Americans from getting over the border? Then how are we ever to defend ourselves against someone who wants to do us real harm which most of them crossing illegally don't. But you never know, a few ISIS terrorists could also get in that way.

A much better way is to take resources away from the military-industrial complex and deploy them at the border. That means military manpower and technologically sophisticated apparatuses - en electronic wall if you will. An actual wall is very offensive to Mexico. It would be better to work with Mexico to prevent illeqal immigration. It is a non sequitur that the world's richest country can't stop an invasion at its borders no matter how small and how benign. There's also the issue of people coming in on visas and then overstaying them. Certainly this would not happen if the US followed up on those people and then deported them if need be. Then there's the issue of people entering illegally by plane, big or small, and by water. It's not just the land border that's the problem.

Instead of arguing pointlessly over whether we want a wall or we want "open borders," we should be arguing instead about how many resources should be deployed and of what types, how much manpower, how much surveillance etc. Instead the US spends a trillion dollars on stuff that is mainly worthless while ignoring the threat that actually exists.

7 TRUTHS ABOUT IMMIGRATION

by Robert Reich

Friday, July 13, 2018

1. A record high of 75 percent of Americans now say immigration is a “good thing” for the country. 

2. America needs more immigrants, not fewer, because our population is rapidly aging.  

3. Historically, new immigrants have contributed more to society in taxes than they have taken from society in terms of public assistance. 

4. Most immigrants don’t take jobs away from native-born Americans. To the contrary, their spending creates more jobs. 

5. Trump’s claim that undocumented immigrants generate more crime is dead wrong. Both legal and undocumented immigrants are significantly less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States. 

6. Violent crime rates in America are actually at historical lows, with the homicide rate back to its level from the early 1960s. 

7. Illegal border crossings have been declining since 2014 – long before Trump’s “crackdown.” There is no “surge” in illegal immigration. 

Please spread the truth. 

Off the Top of My Head

Immigration: So What Is The Solution?

by John Lawrence, July 3, 2018

There has been a lot of turmoil lately over the subject of immigration. The Right wants to keep them all out; the Left wants to let them all in. No one, it seems, has a somewhat rational idea of how to solve the problem. There is a lot of heat, but little light. So here I offer a modest proposal for dealing with the immigration problem.

I divide it into three parts: 1) what to do with illegal immigrants that are already here, 2) how to keep potentially illegal immigrants out and 3) how to deal with legal immigration. As for #1, I think the court system should deal with them humanely. No separation of families. If they've been here a long time and have led constructive lives, grandfather them in. If they've been here a short time and/or have committed criminal acts, send them back. The court system should make those decisions. Especially if they have children who are American citizens, they should stay although they should not be given the rights of citizenship if they came here illegally.

2) Instead of devoting military resources to manning 1000 bases in every country in the world and spending almost the entire military budget of $1 trillion on foreign wars and threats, devote the lion's share of that budget to solving problems in our own hemisphere. A large share of that should go to preventing illegal immigration although it should be spent rationally not on some fantasy of a border wall. Most illegals get here by overstaying their visas. That program needs attention so that persons on visas are tracked to make sure they go back when their time is up. Secondly, a smart and sophisticated electronic and satellite patrol system should be set up at the border. The border patrol should be stepped up. Helicopter and camera surveillance should be implemented. In some places a wall or a virtual wall or a barrier of some kind should be put in place. It should be impossible just to raft across the Rio Grande and then take off on land. Human trafficking should be stopped.

Resources should be devoted to dealing with crime in Mexico and Central America and economic development should be undertaken there so people will be happy and secure in their home countries. This in lieu of our defense budget which is entirely misallocated and focused on Europe and Asia. It should be focused on our own border and our own hemisphere.

3) Immigration policy should focus almost exclusively on refugees. There is a refugee crisis going on all over the world, largely precipitated by wars in the Middle East which the US started. These countries were largely functional until George W Bush invaded Iraq based on a lie in 2003, and Obama encouraged the "Arab spring" and regime change. Europe, Germany in particular, is facing a a huge refugee crisis created by, guess who, us! Therefore, the US should be accepting a large number of those refugee immigrants that are now flooding Europe, and again the policy of economic development in their home countries which we have largely destroyed should be implemented. I totally disagree with Trump's policy of accepting as legal immigrants only the best and the brightest. We should be accepting refugees from all over the world as in Emma Lazarus' poem: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore." That was US immigration policy then. There is even more reason why it should be US immigration policy now. And besides it will alleviate the pressure that Europe is under causing the upsurge in right wing politicians there.

In short US immigration policy should be compassion towards those who have come here illegally and have led constructive lives, zero illegal immigration brought about by devoting a significant part of the defense budget to prevention and a legal immigration policy focused on refugees, most of which have been created by American wars in the Middle East.

Ripping Into Trump for Treating Children Worse Than Seized Property, Judge Orders Reunification of Separated Families

Published on Wednesday, June 27, 2018 by Common Dreams

"This ruling is an enormous victory for parents and children who thought they may never see each other again."

by Jessica Corbett, staff writer

 

0 Comments

Protesters walked though the streets of El Paso, Texas on June 21, 2018 to protest against the Trump administration's immigration policies. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

A federal judge in San Diego, California ruled late Tuesday that the more than 2,000 migrant children separated from their parents under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy must be reunited with their families within 30 days—and children under age 5 must be returned to parents within two weeks.

"This ruling is an enormous victory for parents and children who thought they may never see each other again," declared Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, which fought for the families in court. "Tears will be flowing in detention centers across the country when the families learn they will be reunited."

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📣 The judge ruled that the Trump administration must reunite separated families within 30 days, and children under 5 must be reunited with their parents within 14 days. #FamiliesBelongTogether

— ACLU (@ACLU) June 27, 2018

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"The facts set forth before the court portray reactive governance—responses to address a chaotic circumstance of the government's own making. They belie measured and ordered governance, which is central to the concept of due process enshrined in our constitution," wrote (pdf) U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw. "This is particularly so in the treatment of migrants, many of whom are asylum seekers and small children."

The Trump administration's family separation policy was implemented without any standards for adequately tracking detained children taken from their parents, so as Sabraw noted, the "startling" and "unfortunate reality is that under the present system migrant children are not accounted for with the same efficiency and accuracy as property."

Karen Tumlin, director of legal strategy for the National Immigration Law Center, drew attention to the court's pointed criticism of federal officials treating children with less care than a detainee's personal effects:

Court rips into the U.S. government for the "startling reality" that it has failed to have any process for keeping track of kids ripped apart from their parents & has done a worse job keeping track of children it jails than it does of "property." #FamiliesBelongTogether 2/

— Karen Tumlin (@KarenTumlin) June 27, 2018

In addition to setting deadlines for reunification, Sabraw also issued a nationwide injunction to block officials from separating any more families—unless a parent "affirmatively, knowingly, and voluntarily declines to be reunited with the child...or there is a determination that the parent is unfit or presents a danger to the child"—and mandated that the government establish phone contact between separated children and their parents within 10 days.

While the ruling, which allows the case to proceed as a class action suit, was welcomed by the immigrant rights community, it is still unclear how officials will actually go about reuniting families, particularly if a parent already has been deported and their child remains in government custody.

Congratulations to the @ACLU for this enormous victory. The fight is not over, we are still unclear about what will happen to parents, including our clients, who were already deported without their children. The admim must clarify. #FamiliesBelongTogether https://t.co/AXW9NstHOB

— Texas Civil Rights Project (@TXCivilRights) June 27, 2018

Prior to Tuesday night's ruling, 17 states and the District of Columbia—all led by Democratic attorneys general—filed suit (pdf) with the U.S. District Court in Seattle over President Donald Trump's recent executive order that called for an end to the policy but which critics say trades "one form of child abuse for another."

"The new federal executive order does not bring back together the thousands of families that were torn apart by the Trump administration's policy, and it does not prevent families from being separated in the future," explained Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. The attorneys general have not yet updated or withdrawn their case following the ruling in California.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that 2,047 children remain in government custody and claimed they could not be reunited with their parents because of the 1997 Flores agreement, which puts a 20-day limit on detaining families.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

Off the Top of My Head

The US Has No Qualms About Invading Other Countries

by John Lawrence, June 26, 2018

So why not invade Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala and take out M-13. That should solve our immigration problems. Seriously, the migrant/refugee crisis will not abate until conditions improve in those Central American countries. There are just too many poor people in the world who have nothing to lose by risking death to move to an area where they feel they and their families will be better off. The migrant/refugee crisis is happening all over the world - in Europe, for example. Angela Merkel has made deals with Turkey and other countries to cut off refugee routes into Germany. Most European countries, after accepting large numbers of immigrants, have strengthened their borders. Otherwise, most of the Middle East and Africa would have moved there. Why live in a hellhole when you can migrate to a decent country and have a decent life for your family? That is exactly the crux of the matter.

Evidently, the only good paying jobs in Central America are with gangs doing drug and human smuggling. If the US took pains to improve the lives of the poor living there, they would probably not migrate here. But the US has its own internal refugee crisis - the homeless. And there is nowhere for them to go to improve their lives. Basically it's the same situation all over the world, and it'll only be exacerbated by the climate crisis. Poor people want a better life. So far the world's rich countries, the chief among them being the US, have done little or nothing to improve poor peoples' lives either here or abroad. The US puts primary emphasis on defense, in other words, keeping poor people in their places so they can't harm us. The US policy is to make the world safe for rich people, not to help the poor and the struggling. "Give me your poor, your huddled masses etc" is so passe. It's not what the US is about nor has it been about for many years.

The US needs to help Central American countries to improve the lives of poor people and get rid of the gangs who make a good living bringing drugs and people to the US. If economic conditions improved there, the migrant/refugee crisis at the southern US border would ameliorate. Of course, the US has a right to territorial integrity. That's where Trump and his base are right. However, there is a moral imperative to help others improve their lives in situ. Otherwise, the crisis will not abate. That goes for the homeless crisis in the US as well. Capitalism can only go so far to improve peoples' lives, but it is not far enough without precipitating the crisis of the poor and dispossessed all over the world. Beating our swords into plowshares would be a good first step. We spend much to much money on the War Department and not enough on the Peace Department. Oh, I guess that doesn't even exist. Silly me.

'Both Illegal and Unconstitutional': Trump Brazenly Suggests Immediate Deportations, Zero Due Process

Published on Sunday, June 24, 2018 by Common Dreams

"When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came," the president tweeted Sunday.

by Andrea Germanos, staff writer

 

3 Comments

President Donald Trump speaking at Arlington National Cemetery on May 28, 2018. President Donald Trump on Sunday called for immediately deporting immigrants—a group he referred to people who "invade our country"—without due process.

The ACLU hit back at president's proposal, calling it "both illegal and unconstitutional," as the right to due process extends to those who've entered the U.S. without documentation.

At roughly 11am, Trump sent out a pair of tweets, saying in part, "When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came."

We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country. When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came. Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order. Most children come without parents...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2018

....Our Immigration policy, laughed at all over the world, is very unfair to all of those people who have gone through the system legally and are waiting on line for years! Immigration must be based on merit - we need people who will help to Make America Great Again!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2018

📣 What President Trump suggested here is both illegal and unconstitutional.

Any official who has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws should disavow it unequivocally. https://t.co/qsy58VACSB

— ACLU (@ACLU) June 24, 2018

"That's not how any of this works," the ACLU added in a comment about Trump's tweet.

It was just a year and half ago Trump swore he would "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States"—a point noted by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.):

<

Dear @realDonaldTrump: Remember the oath you took to the Constitution at your relatively small inauguration? You should read the Constitution. The Due Process Clause applies to all persons, not just US citizens.

As @POTUS, you of all people need to follow law and order. https://t.co/CK8VSVrp8h

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) June 24, 2018

>

Ethics expert Norm Eisen, meanwhile, suggested the tweets were a sign the president's attack on the rule of law would widen its scope:

He's trying to use the most vulnerable as a battering ram in his ongoing attack on the rule of law. But if he can deprive them of due process, American citizens will be next. How long before new chant at his rallies is "lock them all up"? Now is the time to hold the line https://t.co/38wSQj3ghK

— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) June 24, 2018

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Off the Top of My Head

If Trump Can Direct Military to Build Housing for Immigrants, He Can Tell Them to Build Housing for the Homeless

by John Lawrence

After the latest Trump imbroglio over separating immigrant families at the border, with the stroke of a pen, he now stops them from being separated. All well and good. It shows what a huge public outcry can accomplish. So now, since more and more families with children are showing up at the border, the US is running out of adequate facilities to shelter them until they get their day in court to determine if they should be admitted into the US or sent back where they came from.

Faced with this dilemma, Trump just rattled off the top of his head that he would direct the military to build housing for them. Very nice, but if he can do that, why can't he build housing for the homeless? The homeless situation is developing into a far greater crisis than is the situation of migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. The homeless are American citizens fuhchrissake. How about making America Great Again by guaranteeing that every US citizen has adequate housing?

Politico reported:

President Donald Trump Wednesday ordered Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to provide facilities and care for migrants as part of the president’s move to stop separating families crossing the U.S. border with Mexico.

Trump’s executive order directs Mattis to “take all legally available measures” to provide any existing facilities available to house and care for migrant families — and build whatever other facilities might be needed.

So the President can order the military to "build whatever other facilities might be needed." That's reassuring because the next Democratic President can just order facilities to be built to house the homeless without even going through Congress!

This President seems capable of ordering anything without the Congressional tie-ups and filibusters that Obama experienced. Why did Obama try to get everything through Congress if he could just order it done like Trump does? Very interesting. Probably Trump won't order the military to build housing for the homeless, but the next Democratic President should take a page out of Trump's book and just do it. Have we come to the age of the Imperial Presidency? It sure looks like it with Trump at the helm. Who needs Congress? He just orders it, and it's done.

And the same goes for international diplomacy. Who needs all the fol de rol of sending hordes of bureaucrats when the President can just dial up a dictator like Kim Jong Un and arrange a summit? Peace in the world by fiat? Certainly possible. Give Trump at least credit for that. He's broken the ice of a sclerotic bureaucracy.

Trump’s America: Open to Global Capital, Not People

by Robert Reich

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Trump to global CEOs and financiers in Davos, Switzerland: “America is open for business.” We’re now a great place for you to make money. We’ve slashed taxes and regulations so you can make a bundle here.  

Trump to ambitious young immigrants around the world, including those brought here as children: America is closed. We don’t want you. Forget that poem affixed to the Statue of Liberty about bringing us your poor yearning to breathe free. Don’t even try.

In Trump’s America, global capital is welcome, people aren’t.

Well, I have news for the so-called businessman. America was built by ambitious people from all over the world, not by global capital.

Global capital wants just one thing: A high return on its investment.

Global capital has no obligation to any country or community. If there’s another place around the world where taxes are lower and regulations laxer, global capital will move there at the speed of an electronic blip.

Global capital doesn’t care how it gets a high return. If it can get it by slashing wages, outsourcing to contract workers, polluting air and water, defrauding investors, or destroying communities, it will.

People are different. Once they’ve rooted somewhere, they generally stay put. They develop webs of connections and loyalties.

If they’re ambitious – and, let’s face it, the one characteristic that almost all immigrants to America have shared for more than two centuries is ambition – they develop skills, educate their kids, and contribute to their communities and their nation.

My great grandfather arrived in America from Ukraine. He was nineteen years old and penniless. What brought him here was his ambition. He built a business. He started a family.

Then he invited his brothers and sisters from Ukraine to join him. He put them up in his home and gave them some of his savings to start their own lives as Americans.

You may call it “chain migration,” Mr. Trump, but we used to call it “family reunification.” We believed it wasn’t just humane to allow members from abroad to join their loved ones here, but also good for the America. It made the nation stronger and more prosperous.

By the way, Mr. Trump, global capital doesn’t create jobs. Jobs are created when customers want more goods and services. Nobody invests in a business unless they expect consumers to buy what that business will produce. Those consumers include immigrants.

Consumers are also workers. The more productive they are and the better they’re paid, the more goods and services they buy – creating a virtuous circle of higher wages and more jobs.

They become more productive and better paid when they have access to good schools and universities, good health care, and well-maintained transportation systems linking them together.  

This combination – people rooted in families and communities, supplemented by ambitious young immigrants, all aided by good education and infrastructure – made America the economic powerhouse it is today.  

Along the way, regulations proved to be necessary guardrails. We protected the environment, prevented fraud, and tried to stop financial entities from gambling away everyone’s savings, because we came to see that capitalism without such guardrails is a mudslide.

We didn’t accomplish what we’ve achieved by cutting taxes and slashing regulations so global investors could make more money in America, while preventing ambitious immigrants from coming to our shores.

We raised taxes – especially on big corporations and wealthy individuals – in order to finance good schools, public universities, and infrastructure. We regulated business. And we welcomed immigrants and reunited families.

Global capital came our way not because we were a cheap place to do business but because we were fabulously productive and innovative place to do business.  

Now Trump and his rich backers want to undo all this. No one should be surprised. When they look at the economy they only see money. They’ve made lots of it.

But the real economy is people. America should be open to ambitious people even if they’re dirt poor, like my great grandfather. It should also be open to their relations, whose family members here will give them a start. 

It should invest in people, as it once did.

America didn’t become great by global capital seeking higher returns but by people from all over world seeking better lives. And global capital won’t make it great again. 

Off the Top of My Head

Trump's SOTU Speech and his Immigration Proposal

by John Lawrence

All in all Trump's speech was dignified, and he made good use of his guests' stories and anecdotes. The rest was platitudes except for his immigration proposal. I wish someone had come on first with a big sign that read "SAVE YOUR APPLAUSE UNTIL THE END." Who wants to hear Congressman applauding for half the time of an hour speech?

As for Trump's immigration proposal, it seems to me that the onerous parts of it are a small price to pay in return for securing the futures of millions of illegal Dreamers who are  totally in limbo at the present time and are in danger of being deported very soon. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are proving themselves to be a bunch of stupid dopes if they can't see that $25 billion for a stupid wall that will probably never be built because it's impractical or at least it won't be built out completely during Trump's tenure, is a small price to pay for securing the lives and futures of as many as 1.8 million Dreamers including those who hadn't come out of the closet yet.

Really, Democrats? You would sacrifice those Dreamers on the altar that you don't like what Trump's proposal would do to legal immigration? The lottery thing is pure garbage and should be done away with. The chain immigration thing is a little harsh but at least it allows reconciliation of the nuclear family. Why allow distant relatives in as well? The limits to legal immigration seem realistic to me since with a population of 323 million people, the US is not hurting for additional people of any kind. With jobs being automated out of existence including truck drivers and cashiers, two of the largest job categories, we need fewer people not more.

I'm a Democrat, but they sure are proclaiming their irrelevance with this one. They are sacrificing 1.8 million illegals that would be given a path to citizenship on the altar of legal immigrants that are not even here yet? The stupidity is appalling and astounding and it goes to show how and why their party is becoming increasingly irrelevant. What, they don't want to let Trump have credit for resolving the immigrant crisis? I don't understand.

What Trump didn't include in his proposal is the fact that most illegals come here legally on visas and then overstay their visas. Why didn't he propose cracking down on them?

If the Democrats don't accept Trump's immigration proposal perhaps with some minor tweaking, I'm not voting for them any more. I won't vote Republican either because I can't stand their policies and the damage they are inflicting on the country with Trump's "beautiful coal" and other environmental policies. I won't go on about everything else I hate about the Republican party, but I will become a full blown independent if Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi can't get it together to secure a path to citizenship for the Dreamers. The other stuff in Trump's proposal is a small price to pay.

Off the Top of My Head

There's a Brou Ha Ha a'Brewing

by John Lawrence, January 24, 2018

Since The Repubs and the Dems kicked the can down the road on immigration, there's another government shutdown scheduled for less than three weeks. MItch McConnell is going to bring it to the floor. Big deal. It'll never pass because the Repubs don't want it to pass. So there will be another government shutdown while Chuck Schumer tries to deal with the Dealer-in-Chief who don't wanna maka da deal. If he done wanna maka da deal, Chuck Schumer will be running around in circles trying to make an irrational guy be rational.

Trump wants to send the Dreamers home so they can dream in their native lands. He loves the Dreamers and he will love them even more when they are safely home in Mexico on the other side of the Great Wall. After the next government shutdown the twitter sphere will be all lit up with twitters about how the Dems are making our poor military fighting men and women suffer by not paying them while forcing them into battle. Their wives and Mums will not even get their $100, 000. death bonus after they're shot down by the Taliban.

Will the Dems go to the mat for the Dreamers while the Repub propaganda machine grinds out the alternate facts about how the Dems are hurting our fighting men and women? And the Statue of Liberty will be closed. That great symbol of the free and the brave will only be able to be seen from afar. You will have to blow kisses at it instead of stepping right up and hugging it. Park rangers will be furloughed. It'll be terrible. All the while the Dems championing of the Dreamers will be pitted against the Repubs standing tall for our military.

When it's over, the Dreamers will be left twisting in the wind which has always been Trump's intention no matter how much he loves them. It has always been the Repubs' intention as well. Hidden up Mitch McConnell's sleeve is the so-called nuclear option by which is meant he will change the rules of the Senate to eliminate the filibuster for just this one vote. Of course, the Dems will not be able to do that when they have a majority. McConnell did it once to get Gorsuch onto the Supreme Court. He'll do it again with impunity guaranteeing a vote that opens the government without resolving the Dreamer crisis. After that the deportations of the Dreamers will begin.

Trump's base will be happy.

'Even Worse Negotiator Than Trump': Progressives Slam Schumer for Caving to GOP on #TrumpShutdown

Published on Monday, January 22, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Dems failed to fight and use their leverage to protect immigrant youth."

89 Comments

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Monday that the necessary number of Democrats would vote to pass a three-week spending bill to end the shutdown without a deal on protections for undocumented young people. (Photo: C-SPAN/screenshot)

Critics of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) slammed him for caving to Republicans after he announced Monday that the necessary number of Democrats would support a three-week spending bill to end the #TrumpShutdown without first reaching an agreement to protect undocumented youth known as Dreamers.

"It's official: Chuck Schumer is the worst negotiator in Washington—even worse than Trump. Any plan to protect Dreamers that relies on the word of serial liars like Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, or Donald Trump is doomed to fail."
—Murshed Zaheed, CREDO

Schumer's announcement alarmed immigrant rights advocates and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA)—or Dreamers—who have urged Democrats to "stand strong" and resist a spending measure that doesn't include a permanent DACA fix.

"It's official: Chuck Schumer is the worst negotiator in Washington—even worse than Trump," CREDO political director Murshed Zaheed said. "Any plan to protect Dreamers that relies on the word of serial liars like Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, or Donald Trump is doomed to fail."

"The fact is, Republicans do not want to protect Dreamers, and they won't do it unless Democrats force their hand by insisting that a clean DREAM Act is attached to a must-pass spending bill," Zaheed continued, adding, "in getting outmaneuvered by Sen. McConnell today, Chuck Schumer has failed dreamers and let the entire Democratic Party down."

"A promise from known liars Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, or Donald Trump isn't worth the paper it's printed on, yet despite that fact, most Senate Democrats, including Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, voted to allow Donald Trump to continue to subject an ever growing number of Dreamers to lives threatened by deportation from the only home they've ever known," noted Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America.

"Today's cave by some Senate Democrats was not only a stunning display of moral and political cowardice, it was a strategically incoherent move that demonstrates precisely why so many believe the Democratic Party doesn't stand for anything."
—Charles Chamberlain, Democracy for America

"That's not what moral courage or leadership in the face of Trump's hate looks like, and it sure as hell isn't a display of competent negotiating skills," Chamberlain added. "Today's cave by some Senate Democrats was not only a stunning display of moral and political cowardice, it was a strategically incoherent move that demonstrates precisely why so many believe the Democratic Party doesn't stand for anything."

"Trump and Republicans in Congress stood with their anti-immigrant nativist base, and too many Democrats backed down, abandoned Dreamers, and failed to fight for their values," said MoveOn.org executive director Ilya Sheyman, who called the stopgap measure a "bad, outrageous deal."

"The fight is far from over," Sheyman added, "with days until DACA expires for all recipients and with the Senate now likely to consider the DREAM Act that the vast majority of Americans support, the grassroots progressive movement is committed to mobilizing alongside Dreamers until we win."

Immigrant advocates weighed in on Twitter, denouncing Schumer for "turning his back on Dreamers" and Democrats for failing to "use their leverage to protect immigrant youth."

Who says @SpeakerRyan will even bring it up for a vote? Shame on @SenateDems for caving. 122 Dreamers lose protections each day. @SenSchumer is turning his back on Dreamers. We didn’t march this weekend to support this spineless leadership. #DreamKiller https://t.co/eBz1BC2k81

— Indivisible Midlands (@IndivisibleSC_2) January 22, 2018

Congress votes on a 3 week CR w/out #DreamAct. Dems failed to fight & use their leverage to protect immigrant youth. A false promise to vote on immigration from Rs is not a strategy to win. We won't be fooled. This vote means deportation. Won't stop fighting! #DreamActNow

— Cristina Jimenez (@CrisAlexJimenez) January 22, 2018

Shame on Chuck Schumer.

The deal he just made with Republicans hinges on Mitch McConnell's honesty and integrity.

What a foolish thing they've done.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) January 22, 2018

Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—who were among the 18 lawmakers who voted against the measure—immediately stated their opposition to Schumer's announcement.

I will keep working with my colleagues to find a long-term solution that supports members of our military, funds CHIP and community health centers, provides resources for those recovering from disasters & guarantees a future for young immigrants who are as American as all of us.

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) January 22, 2018

It’s been over 100 days since protection for 800k Dreamers ended, since community health centers were funded, since hurricanes ravaged TX, FL & PR. The Republicans refused to fix any of these issues– and they still haven't fixed them. We don't need new promises. We need new laws.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) January 22, 2018

Addressing the Senate floor ahead of the vote, Schumer said, "after several discussions, offers, counteroffers, the Republican leader and I have come to an arrangement" to reopen the government and to "continue negotiating" on immigration. Schumer added that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has agreed that if an immigration deal can't be reached before the stopgap spending measure expires on Feb. 8, "the Senate will immediately proceed to consideration of legislation dealing with DACA." 

Chuck Schumer says that he hasn't spoken to Trump since Friday and that the White House refused to engage in negotiations over the weekend: "The great deal-making president sat on the sidelines." (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/IpLWreLJXv

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 22, 2018

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Off the Top of My Head

Trump's Art of the Backstabbing Deal

by John Lawrence, January 23, 2018

The media complained, "Where was the deal maker in all the brou ha ha leading up to the government shutdown." They just don't understand. Trump's art of dealing means getting things his way and his way is telling the Dreamers "My Way and for you the Highway." Despite what he says, which means nothing, he wants the Dreamers deported. So he got the can kicked down the road for another three weeks. One more kick of the can and Bingo: off go the Dreamers to dream in their parents' native lands.

Trump will stab them and Chuck Schumer in the back in a New York minute. His base will cheer and Trump will gloat. This is the kind of deal that Trump makes - not one that benefits Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi. Trump's base wants the Dreamers deported. Why? Because they were one of Obama's pet projects. And we know that anything Obama did was illegal and morally reprehensible. The Dreamers must go just to show how much we are cracking down on illegal immigration.

What does it say in the Bible? That the sins of the father must be visited upon the children for two or more generations. Trump is just carrying out Biblical encomiums when he insists that the sins of the mother be visited on the children. The children must suffer because the mothers brought them here illegally. What part of illegal do they not understand?

If the Democrats have any backbone whatsoever, they will let the government shut down in three weeks until they finally get their own way and the Dreamers can relax. Their whole credibility as a viable political party depends on that. Congress will dither for three weeks until the showdown. The Democrats must hang tough. Trump will say one thing one day, the opposite the next. In the final analysis, Mitch McConnell will pull the nuclear option so as to emasculate the Democratic filibuster, and the Democrats will go along with it because they are nicer people.

Off the Top of My Head

The Solution is Simple and Obvious

by John Lawrence, January 22, 2018

Everybody knows that Trump's ending the DACA program and saying Congress would have to deal with immigration was a ploy because Congress wouldn't have dealt with it, and the Federal government would start deporting Dreamers the day the program ended in March. Trump and his base would be satisfied and Trump could conveniently put the blame on Congress if not just the Democrats in Congress. That's why it's so important that the Democrats stick to their guns till they get a solid deal legalizing the Dreamers. Anything else and Trump and the Republicans will go back on their word and screw the Democrats and the Dreamers.

But here's the simple solution employing the KISS principle, Keep It Simple Stupid: The Dreamers are given green cards and Trump gets some money for his wall. That's all there is to it. Republicans are still trying to figure out a way to screw the Democrats over this. There is no need to make the deal more complicated. When they do, they run into all kinds of problems thinking one side is giving up more than the other.

A more comprehensive approach would deal with the lottery (end it) and chain immigration or family reconciliation. For the Dreamers they could make it illegal to bring more family members in. My approach would legalize the fathers and mothers of the Dreamers, but they wouldn't be able to bring in aunts, uncles and cousins on the grounds of family reconciliation. They could visit those folks in Mexico or wherever. The Dems could give the Repubs those two things without any sweat because they are both the right things to do. So there you have it: problem solved. The government can reopen.

Next, if they really wanted to get more comprehensive, they should end the right of mothers flying in to give birth in the US with their offspring becoming automatic American citizens. Then they go back to their home country, and their kid or kids can come back to the US whenever they feel like it and have all the rights of citizenship. This is ludicrous and looney tunes and no other country does it.

There are still remaining issues like what to do with other illegal immigrants or the children thereof who haven't come out of the closet like the Dreamers did, but who have been in the US for many years. There some line should probably be drawn depending on the length of time in the US. That could be done on a case by case basis.

Off the Top of My Head

Immigration 2

by John Lawrence, January 18, 2018

Of course the Dreamers should be given a path to citizenship as well as all illegals that have been here more than say 5 years. However, the crackdown on illegal immigration should be strengthened, but not necessarily by building a wall. The most prolific source of illegal immigration is overstaying of visas. This system needs to be modified so this just does not happen. As far as the Dreamers, their parents who brought them here should also be allowed to stay if they've been here 5 years or more.

Lottery based immigration should be ended. We don't want random people coming here from random countries. Family reconciliation is OK up to a point. I would say Grandparents should come, but no aunts, uncles or cousins. I don't know why this issue should be so prominent. It could be dealt with in a rational manner.

Throughout history there has been a rationale for immigration that made sense. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries there were wide open spaces in the US that needed to be settled. There was also a need for labor. In the 20th century there was just a need for labor. In the 21st century there is no longer a need for labor so immigration needs have changed.

It makes sense to let people in that have cooperated with the US and because of that have been targeted by militant groups in their countries. Of course, if the US military hadn't been there in the first place fighting useless wars, there would be no call for this type of immigration. The US and Europe should help resettle refugees in their own countries. This means a massive PEACE effort of rebuilding infrastructure, homes and businesses. The US should pay reparations for all civilians killed and homes and businesses destroyed. The US military should be put to use rebuilding rather than destroying.

Immigration should be kept to a minimum and be merit based instead of guilt based which it has been up to now. With that sentiment I agree with Trump. There is no need for immigrant labor when we have a large homeless population and formerly incarcerated population that can't get jobs. Automation is depopulating the work force on a daily basis. First see to it that all Americans that are here already have a job and a roof over their heads before letting more people into the country.

Off the Top of My Head

Immigration

by John Lawrence, January 17, 2018

Immigration is a touchy subject. How do you decide who gets in, from what countries, with what skills? First of all the US has seemed to accept immigrants from countries we've had wars with. Is that out of guilt or out of the fact that these people were on our side in the Vietnam war for example? The solution is simple: stop fighting wars in every corner of the world and then accepting immigrants from whatever war torn country the US military has torn apart. Refugees from these countries should be resettled in their own countries with financial aid from the developed world to help them to do so. In other words a massive Peace Corps development involving rebuilding bombed out towns and cities and infrastructure development. Europe has finally come to the conclusion that it can't accept an unending flood of refugees and is doing this.

Trump wants to accept refugees on a merit basis. In other words people with skills that will help them make a contribution to society. That makes sense although the foreigners coming in on H1B visas are taking jobs away from Americans because they will work longer, harder and cheaper. So merit based solutions need to be monitored and limited.

The US is a relatively mature society in the sense that it is "built out." There are not a lot of open  places that need development. All the good land has more or less been taken. Businesses have been established. There is no need for labor to build stuff as there was much of US history. Also immigrants should be self-sufficient. They shouldn't be a burden on society. They need to be able to take care of themselves or have sponsors that help to get them adjusted and started. That's the way it used to be. The sponsor needed extra help on the farm, for example, and would sponsor an immigrant family to come help him.

Chain immigration in which every immigrant then brings everyone over from his town or village other than his immediate family shouldn't happen. We shouldn't take immigrants from countries where terrorism is active even though the US has basically created terrorism by destroying their countries. Nevertheless, we shouldn't be taking in potential terrorists because we feel guilty about having destroyed those countries. Instead, we should do a massive rebuilding effort in those countries. We destroyed them. We should rebuild them.

All in all I think that merit based, not guilt based, immigration is the way to go, but not people who will work cheaper and take jobs away from American citizens. Despite what it says on the Statue of Liberty, we don't need any more "huddled masses" at this point in history. However, we should be helping people to get out of poverty around the world especially in countries where we've warred.

Off the Top of My Head

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program

by John Lawrence

Was there ever a stupider program than the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program which let the New York City truck bomber, Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old immigrant from Uzbekistan, into the country? But wait, there's something even stupider:

The U.S. Embassy announces the opening of the 2019 Diversity Visa Lottery Program (DV-2019). Often called the “Green Card Lottery,” DV-2019 is the only official lottery program for immigrant visas to the United States. Registration began at noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Tuesday, October 3, 2017, and ends at noon EDT on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. There is no fee to apply.

He carried out his deed on October 31 which means it was during the period that some other terrorist could apply for their green card. Why wasn't this program immediately discontinued and canceled? It just goes to show that the Trump administration and politicians in general are all a bunch of hot air. It's all bullshit, especially with Tweety Trump. The only intelligent discussion of the issues is on RT, a media outlet politicians want to get rid of, probably because they do have intelligent discussions which is anathema to the bullshit politicians who didn't even know there were American soldiers in Niger, nor did they know about the DIVP.

 The dimwit Democrats better come up with a new approach and a new line about immigration because that is one area where Trump had a greater appeal to the American people. However, Europeans are in a far greater bind as everyone from the Middle East and from Africa is literally dying to get in. They all want a better life.

Here's an idea: Take a few hundred billion away from the combined military budgets of the US and Europe and create a NATO Peace Corps whose mission is to improve the lives of poor people in Africa and the Middle East so they can stay in their homeland and have a good life there. Instead we've bombed the hell out of the Middle East and corporations have exploited the hell out of Africa. The result is that nobody wants to stay there. The American approach is to let corporations exploit these countries in the hopes that the few pittance level jobs that are created for the locals will elevate their standard of living. It hasn't worked. War and corporate exploitation are not the answers.

I(f we hadn't destroyed their cities, they wouldn't be trying to get into Europe and the US. Now Europe is suffering the brunt of the refugee problem. The US has escaped it for the most part, and most Americans want to keep it that way. The Democrats shouldn't just be handing over this issue to the Republicans. Trump exploited it to his advantage, The Democrats better think again.

Why We Must All Fight for the Dream Act.

by Robert Reich

• Thursday, October 19, 2017

  By repealing DACA – Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals – Trump has endangered both these young immigrants and the economic security of America.

  In 2012, the Obama  administration created DACA as a temporary way to address the needs of young people who came to America as infants or toddlers, and know no other country.  

  To apply and qualify for DACA, these young people had to risk entering the system by giving their identifying information. Once approved, they were granted two years of “deferred action” on deportation, with the promise that they could reapply every two years indefinitely.

  This allowed “dreamers” to go to college, get a job, and pay taxes without fear of deportation. DACA was never perfect, but for 800,000 immigrant youth it meant freedom from fear and an opportunity to fully contribute to the country they were raised in. 

  But now these young people are threatened with deportation. 

  For no reason. These young people are not taking jobs away from native-born Americans.  Even the conservative Cato Institute has said that the economic cost of cancelling DACA would be $200 billion over ten years.  And that’s just direct costs. The Center for American Progress estimates that if we lost these young workers the U.S. gross domestic product would shrink by $433 billion over the next decade.

  The moral case is even more compelling than the economic one.

  These kids grew up in America. To enter the DACA program they already had to step forward and show that they were contributing  to their communities and then prove it again every two years to stay in the program. It is immoral to now put them in the crosshairs of deportation.

  This is just the latest effort by Trump to play to his base and divide us, but we must not allow that. Americans of all races and creeds must push congress to pass the Dream Act, and allow these young people to become American citizens – without the Act being a bargaining chip for more border security or anything else. 

  These DACA young people are our neighbors, our colleagues, and our classmates. They represent the the best of the dream that my parents and most of our ancestors had when they came to America:  To make a better life for themselves, and for their kids.  Trump’s attempt to divide us and fuel our differences along racial and ethnic lines is an attack on the America I believe in, and we must not let it stand.  

  That’s why the DACA fight is my fight, and why I stand with the dreamers – and I hope you will too.

  

 

WHY WE NEED SANCTUARY STATES

 by Robert Reich

 

 

Saturday, October 7, 2017

California lawmakers have just passed “sanctuary state” legislation – the first state since Oregon, which 30 years ago passed a law preventing state agencies from targeting undocumented immigrants solely because of their illegal status. 

Other states should follow California’s and Oregon’s lead. 

Since January, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered immigration authorities to target “public safety” threats, federal arrests of undocumented immigrants have increased by over 37 percent. California is home to an estimated 2.3 million unauthorized immigrants. 

California’s law limits the authority of state and local law enforcers to communicate with federal immigration authorities, and prevents officers from questioning or holding people depending on their immigration status or immigration violations. But it still allows federal immigration authorities to enter county jails to question immigrants, and allow police and sheriffs to share information on people who have been convicted of serious crimes.

This is a fair balance. Sanctuary protections like these make sense because:

1. Under them, undocumented immigrants are more likely to come forth with information about crime when doing so won’t put them at risk of deportation. This improves public safety and builds trusts with law enforcement. 

2. By contrast, turning state and local police into immigration agents invites more crime because it diverts limited time and resources to rounding up undocumented immigrants.

3. Undocumented immigrants commit crimes at a lower rate than native-born citizens, so it makes even less sense for local and state police to spend their precious time and resources rounding them up.

4. A dragnet aimed at finding and deporting all of America’s 11 million unauthorized immigrants is cruel, costly, and contemptible. It turns this country into more of a police state, breaks up families, and hurts the economy. 

We must resist Jeff Sessions and his dragnet. Help make your state a sanctuary. 

California to be ‘Sanctuary State’

From the San Diego Union-Tribune, October 6, 2017

Governor signs bill to limit local enforcement of immigration laws

By Jazmine Ulloa

SACRAMENTO

From truthfeed.com

Under threat of possible retaliation by the Trump administration, Gov. Jerry Brown signed landmark “sanctuary state” legislation Thursday, vastly limiting who state and local law enforcement agencies can hold, question and transfer at the request of federal immigration authorities. Senate Bill 54 , which takes effect in January, has been criticized as “unconscionable” by Attorney General Jeff Sessions , becoming the focus of a national debate over how far states and cities can go to prevent their officers from enforcing federal immigration laws.

Supporters have hailed it as part of a broader effort by majority Democrats in the Legislature to shield the state’s 2.3 million undocumented immigrants. Brown took the unusual step of writing a signing message in support of SB 54. He called the legislation a balanced measure that would allow police and sheriff’s agencies to continue targeting dangerous criminals, while protecting hardworking families without legal residency in the country.
“In enshrining these new protections, it is important to note what the bill does not do,” Brown wrote. “This bill does not prevent or prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Department of Homeland Security from doing their own work in any way.”

Legal experts have said federal officials may try to block the law in court to keep it from being implemented. Some doubt such challenges would be successful, pointing to the 10th Amendment and rulings in which courts have found the federal government can’t compel local authorities to enforce federal laws. On Thursday, Department of Justice spokesman Devin O’Malley declined to comment on the agency’s next move. Asked whether the administration would attempt to block the state law, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that federal officials “are spending every day we can trying to find the best way forward.

“The president will be laying out his responsible immigration plan over the next week,” she said. “And I hope that California will push back on their governor’s, I think, irresponsible decision moving forward.” Brown’s decision comes as local and state governments are locked in legal battles with Sessions over his move to slash federal grant funding from “sanctuary jurisdictions,” where city and county agencies are limited when working with federal immigration officials. A Chicago federal judge largely blocked Sessions’ effort just hours before SB 54 cleared the Legislature on Sept. 16.

Legislature declares California will be a 'sanctuary state'

From the LA Times:

California Legislature

SEPT. 16, 2017, 1:50 A.M.

 

Jazmine Ulloa

 

After long negotiations, Gov. Jerry Brown and state Senate leader Kevin de León came to a

compromise on the "sanctuary state" bill. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California lawmakers on Saturday passed a Senate bill that would turn the state into a sanctuary for immigrants without legal residency in the country, part of a broader push by Democrats to counter expanded deportation orders under the Trump administration.

After passionate debate on both House chamber floors, staunch opposition from Republican sheriffs and threats from Trump administration officials against so-called sanctuary cities, SB 54 by Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) was approved with a final 27-11 vote. But the bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown was drastically scaled back from the version first introduced, changes that were negotiated between Brown and De León in the final weeks of the legislative session.

On the Senate floor minutes before 2 a.m. Saturday, De León said the changes did not erode the mission of the bill, which was to protect hardworking families, and reflected a compromise between law enforcement officials and advocates.

"This is a measure that reflects the values of who we are as a great state," he said.

SB 54 would limit state and local law enforcement agencies from communication with federal immigration authorities, and prevent all state and local police forces from questioning and holding people on immigration violations.

But amendments added this week would permit officers to continue sharing information and transferring people for immigration authorities if they have convictions for one or more of roughly 800 crimes.

In their respective chambers Friday, at least 20 members of the Assembly and six members of the Senate took the floor for debate on the bill.

Opponents pointed to the concerns from sheriff’s organizations, saying it tied officers’ hands, allowing serial thieves, chronic drug abusers and gang members to slip through the cracks. Supporters countered that the Trump administration was trying to paint all immigrants illegally in the country as criminals.

They pointed to provisions in the bill that would make hospitals, schools and courthouses safe zones for immigrants from federal immigration authorities at a time of fear for some communities. Some children without legal status were not going to school, they said, while police statistics showed a drop in reports of sexual assault and domestic violence as immigrant victims refused to come forward.

READ MORE

The Dreamers' Nightmare

Trump Passes Off Responsibility for Dreamers to the Black Hole of Congress

by John Lawrence

Trump knows good and well that Congress will do nothing to protect the Dreamers. They have six months to get out or they will be the low hanging fruit for deportation, and Trump will not have to take the blame. He can blame it on Congress while laughing up his sleeve because his intention in the first place was to get them deported. He knows that. His base knows that, and he can dog whistle them at his campaign style rallies. Wink. Wink.

The smart ones never came forward with all their information. The government, under the Obama administration, promised them, if they did, they would be protected. Now government, under the Trump administration, is breaking its promise. Dreamers, you've been duped! You never should have trusted the government in the first place. Now it's too late.

Trump says, "He loves the Dreamers." Sure he does. He'll love to get them deported, and then he'll love them when they are on the other side of the border. If he loved them so much, he could have left Obama's executive order in place until Congress came up with a comprehensive immigration reform which he knows they cannot do. They've tried and failed to do this for years. They've been deadlocked over practically every piece of legislation for years. Congress is incapable of doing anything, much less of coming up with a comprehensive immigration plan.

But we're just at the beginning of Trump's massive make-over of the US in order to Make America Great Again. If we can get upset over every outrage as it presents itself, we will be continually in a state of upset. Better to concentrate on the future and coalesce around a set of principles that we would like to see implemented so that we have a coherent alternative to Republicanism and Trumpism that appeals to the largest majority of Americans. The Left needs to appeal to the majority on economic grounds and not just concentrate on identity politics.

The Very Bad Economics of Killing DACA

by Paul Krugman, New York Times, September 5, 2017

Photo

Protesters marching in support of DACA on Tuesday, in Washington.Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times

Trump’s decision to kill DACA — never mind the attempt to obscure things with that meaningless delay — is, first and foremost, a moral obscenity: throwing out 800,000 young people who are Americans in every way that matters, who have done nothing wrong, basically for racial reasons. But it’s also worth noting that Jeff Sessions just tried to sell it with junk economics, claiming that the Dreamers are taking American jobs. No, they aren’t, even if we leave aside the question of who’s an American. DACA is very much a boon to the rest of the U.S. population, and killing it will make everyone worse off.

To see why, first note that whatever you think about the economics of less-educated immigrants — most of the evidence suggests that they don’t depress wages, but that’s another discussion — none of it applies to DREAMers. Their educational and behavioral profile, as Cato notes, doesn’t resemble the average immigrant, let alone the average undocumented immigrant; they look like H-1B visa holders, that is, skilled immigrants we have specifically allowed in because they help the economy.

Beyond that, DREAMers are young — which means that they help the economy in not one but two big ways, because they mitigate the economic problems caused by an aging population.

One of those problems is fiscal: as the population ages, there are fewer working-age members contributing taxes to pay for Social Security and Medicare. A cohort of relatively high-wage, highly motivated people mostly in their 20s, likely to pay lots of taxes for decades, is exactly what the doctor ordered to make that issue less severe.

Meanwhile, I’m one of those who worries about secular stagnation — persistently weak spending, making episodes in which monetary policy can’t achieve full employment even with zero interest rates much more likely. Several factors contribute to this risk, but probably the most important is demography: a sharp slowdown in the growth of the working-age population, which means less incentive to invest in structures, factories, and more. (The demographic issue is why Japan, with low fertility and great hostility to immigration, entered a zero-rate regime a decade before the rest of us.)

And what would make secular stagnation more of a problem? Hey, let’s expel hundreds of thousands of young people from the current and future work force.

So this is a double blow to the U.S. economy; it will make everyone worse off. There is no upside whatever to this cruelty, unless you just want to have fewer people with brown skin and Hispanic surnames around. Which is, of course, what this is really all about.

Two Cheers for President Obama. Bronx Cheers for Congressional Republicans

by John Lawrence from the San Diego Free Press

Finally, President Obama has found the balls to stand up to Congress. He signed an historic agreement regarding climate change with the Chinese. He has taken executive action on immigration that will put 5 million people's minds at ease, and he would have but didn't need to veto the Keystone pipeline. He has also taken a stand in favor of internet neutrality. All of this despite howls of protest from Republicans in Congress. He's realized the futility of "cooperating" with Congress because they have done nothing but try to intimidate, bully, humiliate and badger him from Day 1 of his administration. He finally realizes that hoping to cooperate with them to "get something done" is a fool's errand and a wild goose chase.

Instead Obama is proceeding down the road available to him by taking executive action to further his agenda without deigning to ask Congress for their approval. Hooray for him! They have done nothing but disapprove of him since he has been in office and after awhile it becomes obvious that you don't ask for approval from someone or someones who disapprove of you no matter what you do. He has extended his hand to them numerous times only to have it slapped down. And this attitude of disparagemnt towards Obama has been amplified by the hatemonger talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and others. As far as impeachment goes, President Obama is effectively saying, "Bring it on." Let the bloviators and naysayers and bottom feeders scrape together their articles of impeachment. Obama is not letting these guys stand in his way from accomplishing something the last two years of his administration.

Let's consider for a minute his good work on climate change. He has put in place the first-ever carbon pollution standards for power plants in an effort to reduce the nation's biggest source of pollution blamed for global warming - carbon emission from power plants. Almost a third of America's carbon emissions come from electricity generation. A proposed new Environmental Protection Agency rule would reduce such emissions 30% by 2030, compared to the levels in 2005.

In the historic climate change agreement with China, the U.S. pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26 - 28% by 2025, compared with 2005 levels. In turn, China agreed to peak its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - and sooner if possible - and to get 20% of its energy from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Bill McKibben of 350.org has said there are ten great things about the agreement with the Chinese. Here are a few of them. 1) It is historic; for the first time a developing nation has agreed to eventually limit its emissions. 2) Renewable energy is ready to go. It just needs a push from government to surpass fossil fuels in price and efficiency. The Chinese have revolutionized the production of solar energy, driving down the cost of panels by 90% or more in the last decade. They'll be using clean sources to get 20% of their energy by 2030.

3) Finally, world leaders are taking climate change seriously. When the two largest world economies sign an agreement, other nations will perk up and hopefully fall in line behind them. 4) Recent advances in renewables have made it less plausible to build more pipelines like Keystone or approve new fracking ventures. 4) The goals set by the US/China agreement are easy ones to meet. The Germans will be getting 60% of their energy from clean sources by the mid-2020s  which represents considerably more progress than the 20% expected of the Chinese. 5) Movements work and public pressure on the climate change agendas has had great results so far, but there is much more that needs to be done.

However, this agreement is merely a first step. The International Energy Agency warned in 2012 that "almost four-fifths of the CO2 emissions allowable by 2035 [in order to keep global temperature rise below 2°C] are already locked-in by existing power plants, factories, buildings, etc. If action to reduce CO2 emissions is not taken before 2017, all the allowable CO2 emissions would be locked-in by energy infrastructure existing at that time."

As for the Keystone pipeline, it would do nothing for American citizens. Its purpose is to transport Canadian tar sands oil, the dirtiest kind of oil, across the whole continental United States to ports in Texas where it would be shipped off to other countries. The number of jobs it would provide would be minimal and temporary. The Rosebud Sioux have said that approval of the pipeline, which would traverse their tribal lands, would be considered an act of war, and they would fight it tooth and nail. President Cyril Scott of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe said, “Did I declare war on the Keystone XL pipeline? Hell yeah, I did. I pledge my life to stop these people from harming our children and grandchildren and way of life. They will not cross our treaty lands. We have so much to lose here.”

Naomi Klein in her new book, This Changes Everything, has placed her hope for fighting climate change in just such efforts which are happening around the world which she calls "Blockadia."

Blockadia also stretches into multiple hot spots in Canada ... For instance, in 2013 ... a remarkable standoff was playing out in the province of New Brunswick , on land claimed by the Elsipogtog First Nation, a Mi'kmaq commuinity whose roots in what is now eastern Canada go back some ten thousand years. The people of Elsipogtog were leading a blockade against SWN Resources, the Canadian subsidiary of a Texas-based company, as it tried to conduct seismic testing ahead of a possible fracking operation. The land in question has not been handed over by war or treaty and Canada's highest court has upheld the Mi'kmaq's right to continue to access the natural resources of those lands and waters - rights the protesters say would be rendered meaningless if the territory becomes poisoned by fracking toxins.

... for months demonstrators camped near the seismic testing area, blocking roads and equipment as hand drums pounded out traditional songs. On several occasions trucks were prevented from working, and at one point a Mi'kacq woman strapped herself to a pile of seismic testing gear to prevent it from being moved.

When the Royal Canadian Mounted Police moved in and attacked the demonstrators, the rural landscape was turned into a war zone. Elders and children were attacked. Many were arrested including the Chief of the Elsipogtog Nation. Many cop cars were burned by the demonstrators. The Rosebud Sioux promise the same type of response if the Keystone pipeline is ever approved.

As for immigration, Obama is stepping out on this front as well. In his speech November 20, 2014 he outlined the steps he was taking so that five million parents of American citizen children could legally stay in the US. That's a lot of people. Congressional Republicans including tortoise visaged Mitch McGoonell and ale faced John Boner were up in arms. They vowed retaliation including cutting off funding to the Department of Homeland Security, shutting down the government, blocking the confirmation of the president’s nominees and initiating impeachment proceedings against the president.

They are so upset that Obama won't cooperate with them after proving for six years that they can not be cooperated with. He of the immobile ventriloquist dummy's countenance said with barely his lips moving, "If President Obama acts in defiance of the people and imposes his will on the country, Congress will act." Good luck with that. After rubbing Obama's nose in it for six years (remember he said it was his job to make sure Obama would fail), I hope Obama rubs his nose in it and accomplishes a lot without any input from the useless and problematic Congress. Whatever they say in their interminable bloviations is just a lot of hot air, sound and fury signifying nothing.

Does 'Comprehensive Immigration Reform' Contain an Option for Deportation?

by John Lawrence

Like most national debates these days, the debate on illegal immigration is superficial. For whatever reason the debate seems to be about profiling brown people vs protecting the border. Let's expand the debate to include the full panoply of issues. First, it's a no brainer that the US needs strong border, port and vital industry protection including the power grid, the chemical industry, the communications and internet networks. It's not just a matter of illegal workers coming over the border; that could be fixed with a legal bracero program; it's a matter of illegal drug shipments and other illegal materiel such as guns and weapons and cash. Some of these people and things are going north across the border; some are going south. It's important to put an end to all illegal cross border transgressions, not just illegal immigrants. This is where true national security lies - not in Iraq and Afghanistan. If the border is porous, terrorists can gain entry or they can come on student visas and then overstay their visa.

So it is a multi-faceted problem in which 'profiling brown people' is really a minor part. Criminal activity on the part of illegal border crossers is a major concern. The debate seems to be between those who want stronger border protection first and then dealing with the illegal immigrant population second and those who want "comprehensive immigration reform" which translates to amnesty for all illegal immigrants present in the US today first and whatever regarding the border second. I say the first problem is protecting the border so as to stanch the flow of new illegal immigrants because they continue to come across the border on a daily basis. What to do with the illegal immigrants already in the US is a secondary problem.

The major problem is that, while the military budget is approximately $1 trillion for FY 2011, the Homeland Security budget is a paltry $54.7 billion. Clearly, the resources for protecting the borders and vital installations is a fraction of the Pentagon budget. This indicates that US priorities are all wrong. While money and resources are lavished and to a large extent wasted on the military, real defense of the US is neglected. Why? Because vested interests in the military-industrial complex want to keep it that way. There is no doubt that, if a couple hundred billion was transferred from the Pentagon to Homeland Security, not one single illegal immigrant would be capable of infiltrating the border. While drug lords in Mexico have sophisticated submarines, the Coast Guard has no anti-submarine capability while the US Navy has all sorts of submarine and anti-submarine capabilities. This shows the trifling resources that are allocated to Homeland Security. My main point is that border, port and vital industry protection and strengthening are possible if the resources are allocated to them and that Homeland Security represents real defense needs while wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere represent secondary or tertiary defense needs at most. Our priorities are backwards. While resources allocated to the Pentagon allow for the invention of every military technological trinket money can possibly buy, real defense goes begging. Real border security demands a sophisticated satellite and drone surveillance system integrated with rapid response teams on the ground, an electronic fence if you will.

Comprehensive immigration reform should definitely include deportation as one option. That is not to say that every illegal immigrant should be deported, but unless some are as a deterrent, they will not be disincentivized from coming across the border illegally especially if zero illegal cross border infractions doesn't become a major goal. What needs to happen is that identified illegal immigrants residing in the US should be treated on a case by case basis. Obviously, the criminals among them should be summarily deported. Some of those with deep roots in their communities who have been in the US a long time and have families and businesses should probably be accommodated according to what advocates for comprehensive immigration reform mainly want - a pathway to citizenship. Some illegal immigrants who have raised families in the US may have more family members who are legal American citizens than those who aren't. Some sort of court of appeal needs to be set up.

Those for whom it's decided that they should be deported should also be accommodated to the extent that deportation need not be immediate. In some cases time may be necessary in order to wind down or sell businesses or time may be needed to accomodate those who are close to graduation so they can graduate. Deportation, another name for which is repatriation, need not be a completely negative experience. People and families can be relocated (in many cases just a few miles away) with Federal and Mexican national assistance so that their transition need be no more jarring than a move from one town to another within the US to take another job. Which illegal immigrants should be "legalized" in some sense would be left to a court of appeal. All those who are legalized need not be given a "path to citizenship." There are other forms of legal residency besides citizenship. And their legal residency could be time limited.

The whole debate about racial profiling is simply ridiculous. A cop making a traffic stop always asks for ID. He just doesn't ask for ID if he suspects that you're not an American citizen. The cop then runs a computer check from his vehicle to see if you have a prison record. He can and should routinely check social security numbers or any other database that would indicate legal or illegal citizenship status such as E-verify. E-Verify is an Internet-based system that allows businesses to determine the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States. E-Verify is fast, free and easy to use – and it’s the best way employers can ensure a legal workforce according to the E-verify website. So cops have access to the internet from their patrol vehicles so why can't they tap into the E-verify database to determine if someone they stop for a traffic violation is legal or not? The burden of proof should be on the cop not on the person stopped to verify citizenship. This removes the onerous aspects of people having to present their papers or cops having to ask, "Papers, please."

Checking legal citizenship or green card status should be done just as a matter of course and not just for people with brown skins. There are definitely a number of white skinned people who are in the US illegally and some for nefarious purposes. A national ID card or secure social security card, while desirable, isn't really even necessary as long as some form of ID, and I guess it would be a DRIVER'S LICENSE for those detained in a traffic stop, is presented. The cop has access to multiple databases from his internet connected vehicle and can and should check every one out, not just brown people. Of course, a secure ID card would also be desirable as a first step. Almost everyone sooner or later is stopped by a cop while driving for a traffic violation having nothing to do with racial profiling. If every one is checked at that time for all previous violations criminal or otherwise including citizenship violations, I think this is entirely appropriate.

So the debate need not be all or nothing. Like all sticky wickets and thorny thickets this problem is not black and white. There is a lot of gray. The border needs to be protected big time. Residents of the US need to be legal, or legalized in some sense or deported. Crossing the border illegally needs to be disincentivized.

US to Deploy Drones to Shore Up Border with Mexico

Published on Thursday, June 24, 2010 by Agence France-Presse

by Jordi Zamora

WASHINGTON — The United States plans to deploy two drone aircraft along the Texas-Mexico border as part of a new effort to stem organized crime and illegal immigration, Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano said Wednesday.

Predator drones will be used to patrol the border and in nearby areas in the Gulf of Mexico, once Congress approves the 500 million dollars President Barack Obama has requested, Napolitano said in a Washington speech. (AP)

The two Predator drones will be used to patrol the border and in nearby areas in the Gulf of Mexico, once Congress approves the 500 million dollars President Barack Obama has requested, Napolitano said in a Washington speech.

"These types of flights aren't necessary everywhere," she said in comments to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "But this is the case in the Texas border."

The United States currently has four drones patrolling the border with Mexico in Arizona and one in the northern border with Canada in the state of North Dakota, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Napolitano said the new aircraft are part of a reinforcement of border patrol efforts including one thousand additional agents and 60 investigators.

"Over the past 18 months, this administration has devoted more resources -- including manpower, technology and infrastructure -- to the Southwest border than at any point in America's history," she said.

Texas Governor Rick Perry had requested delivery of the planes, which the US used extensively in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Obama administration is seeking to step up security as it presses for a comprehensive immigration reform measure that likely would allow many of the millions of illegal migrants in the United States to legalize their status.

Many Republican lawmakers say no immigration measure can be considered unless the federal government can ensure security along the southern US border to prevent a spillover of violence from Mexico.

Napolitano also announced a number of new cooperation agreements with law enforcement in non-border states to send personnel to southwest border.

DHS said it is working on a system that will fully link the information systems of all state, local and tribal law enforcement entities operating along the southwest border with those of the federal government.

"Border security is primarily a responsibility of federal government," she said. "We cannot have 50 different state legislations. It will not work."

The remark was aimed at a controversial Arizona law that allows police to question persons suspected of being illegal immigrants.

The agency said it was developing "Project Roadrunner," a license plate reader recognition system aimed at detecting drug trafficking and associated illegal activity along the border.

In a related comment in Congress, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez said the security situation will influence the debate on immigration.

"There are those in the Senate who believe we should basically militarize our borders and until we do, until we meet some standard of militarization, we cannot tackle the issue of comprehensive immigration reform," he said.

© 2010 Agence France-Presse

Put Jobless Young People to Work Doing Jobs Illegals Are Now Doing

by John Lawrence

Robert Reich posted a blog yesterday about putting jobless young people to work cleaning up the mess in the Gulf and sending the bill to BP. Sure and there are a lot of other corporate messes that need to be cleaned up with the bills sent to the respective corporations. In addition to that there are tons of jobs being taken by people that aren't even citizens of the US. These jobs total about the same number as the unemployed in this country. So my solution is to force employers who employ illegals to hire jobless American citizens instead. Government would not have to pay the bill to employ these people, but it would have to facilitate their being employed. In Europe this is know as "workfare." In his book Europe's Promise, Steven Hill tells how workfare, not welfare, is the true nature of European societies. Governments do whatever it takes to get people into jobs paid for by the private sector.

In Sweden nationwide databases of jobs are provided by government at storefront employment agencies. Support systems assist people who are out of work to be sure, but the main goal is to place people in jobs, to get them back to work. Another way European societies create jobs is by public-private partnerships. There is much in the way of infrastructure that needs improving in the US, but the US is hampered in that government doesn't have the money, and private enterprise is not interested in improving infrastructure. This is where private-public partnerships could create not only improved infrastructure but also the jobs required to produce it. Steven Hill writes:

One of the most compelling stories of Europe's strategic use of public-private partnerships is the way it has utilized them for financing massive infrastructure projects, such as for trains and other forms of mass transit, ports, bridges, roads, and even broadband Internet availability. The rigid American way of thinking spurns government involvement in the private sector as well as private investment in public infrastructure, leaving it to the government to pay for and undertake most public infrastructure projects. This creates a major bottleneck when the government is running big deficits, resulting in the delay or outright canceling of crucial infrastructure investment. But European governments, not so hidebound by fundamentalist economic preaching, have played an active role in creating investment vehicles to attract hundreds of billions of dollars from private investors across the globe to finance local and national infrastructure development. They have created financing partnerships with foreign pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions, insurance companies and other entities. "Participants in Europe's infrastructure market marvel at how European national and municipal governments, generally considered to be less market friendly and more suspicious of the private sector than American government, could be so far ahead of the United States in using creative partnerships with the private sector and innovative capital market tools to raise vast sums for infrastructure projects," says Heidi Crebo-Rediker, an investment banker.

In other words government can leverage infrastructure projects instead of paying for them directly and, in the process, create jobs. Instead of decaying infrastructure with no way of paying to improve it, government leverages the creation not only of needed improvements to infrastructure but at the same time creates jobs that private enterprise, left to its own devices, would not create. Creative financing is one of the tools that make this possible. In the US the only model used is to spend government money on projects using taxes (or borrowed money) to pay for them. But there are other ways for government to raise money using the capital markets. Leveraging is the key word. The amount in royalties that BP and other oil companies now pay for extracting American resources could also be raised to European levels of around 50%. Right now, although a significant amount of money is raised by the US from royalties on oil and other resources, the rate is relatively paltry compared to European rates.

And for government to facilitate placing unemployed young American workers in jobs now taken by illegals would be a way to solve part of the illegal immigration problem and the unemployment problem at the same time. But it would take government "work" to bring this about. Funds would have to be used to set up an agency to bring this about; it wouldn't just happen by passing some law or decree. The rewards, as far as government is concerned, would be that people would be taken off the unemployment roles and this would save government money. So by putting out some money to facilitate this happening, government would save money in the long run. Other countries such as Canada will not let anyone into the country if they would be taking one job away from a Canadian citizen. They would have to prove that the job they would be doing could not be done by a Canadian. Otherwise, they do not get in.

The US, however, is so lame and lax both in border protection and job protection that it lets non-American citizens take jobs that Americans could be doing. And don't tell me that illegals are doing jobs Americans don't want to do. Americans should be given the choice of doing those jobs or having their unemployment benefits dropped. At the same time those jobs should come with all the benefits and protections that are not given to the illegals who do them such as paying at least minimum wage. These jobs should be dignified to the extent that they are jobs worthy of doing by American citizens.

While in the US job provision is almost entirely left to the private sector, in Europe governments are actively involved in leveraging job provision and protecting job markets. This is not the same as hiring more government workers. Private enterprise supplies and pays for the jobs. Government with its "workfare" philosophy does whatever it can to leverage them. Private enterprise in the US is obsessed with replacing American workers with low cost labor whether it be by hiring illegals or offshoring the jobs to low cost labor countries. The Obama administration should not just wait around for the private sector to provide jobs. The private sector is actively engaged in the process of reducing the number of American jobs and right now government policy encourages them to do so. Outsourcing, offshoring, automating, computerizing - these are all ways US corporations are bound and determined to reduce the amount of money thay pay for their labor input and hence increase profits. Left to their own devices US corporations will not create jobs when they are in the process of destroying jobs. Where this leaves the American worker is unemployed.

FINALLY: Drones to Patrol Border!

Published on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 by the Austin American Statesman (Texas)

Predator Drones to Fly Over Texas-Mexico Border by Fall

by Tim Eaton

After years of political pressure from Texas politicians, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said Monday that he expects the federal government to deliver unmanned aircraft to watch over the border with Mexico by this fall.

If approved, the unmanned aircraft in Texas would add to the federal government's existing border effort, which includes a handful of other unmanned aircraft, 20,000 Border Patrol agents, about 650 miles of border fence and 41 mobile surveillance systems, according to Customs and Border Protection. (Ross D. Franklin/2007 AP)

Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, said he has had discussions with top officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's office of air and marine operations, and they agreed to the timetable, subject to Federal Aviation Administration approval to allow the surveillance planes — often referred to in the political vernacular as "Predator drones" — to fly over Texas.

Laura Brown, an FAA spokeswoman, said the administration is "working as quickly as we can on this."

Cuellar said the FAA told him that regulators' main concern has been with Texas' heavy airplane traffic — both private and commercial.

If approved, the unmanned aircraft in Texas would add to the federal government's existing border effort, which includes a handful of other unmanned aircraft, 20,000 Border Patrol agents, about 650 miles of border fence and 41 mobile surveillance systems, according to Customs and Border Protection.

The plane, which is made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and officially called a Predator B, is able to spot illegal border activity and send images in real time to border officials.

At that point, Border Patrol agents could be dispatched, according to Customs and Border Protection.

Cuellar — along with Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison and Gov. Rick Perry — has been trying to bring the unmanned aircraft to Texas for years.

Cornyn and Perry, both Republicans, have been among the most vocal critics of the regulators' pace.

"Washington needs to quit fiddling while the border region of America burns," said Perry, who has been calling for Predators since 2005.

Also last week, Cornyn said that the FAA's pace "borders on foot-dragging."

Cuellar has refrained from using harsh words directed at the FAA.

Instead, he invited FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and Alan Bersin, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, to his office on May 20 to make sure an agreement can be reached.

"My interest in this is to get this done as quickly as possible," he said.

Cuellar, who leads the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism, has asked the FAA to give priority to Texas' request.

Cuellar and Customs and Border Protection officials said a home for a Texas-based Predator already has been identified at Naval Air Station-Corpus Christi.

Kimberly Kasitz, a spokeswoman for General Atomics, said one unmanned aircraft costs $10 million to $12 million.

Discussions in Washington have centered on bringing one Predator to Texas to be deployed along the border with Mexico to fight drug trafficking, human smuggling and violent Mexican drug cartels.

The Texas plane is still under construction, Cuellar said. If it is not ready by the time the FAA approves its flight, then one would be borrowed from another location, Cuellar said. He would not say where because of security concerns.

Places with unmanned aircraft systems in the U.S. include Arizona, which has three; North Dakota, which has two; and Florida, with one.

Unmanned aircraft have grown quickly in popularity in the defense and surveillance sectors, said Peter W. Singer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of "Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century."

Since 2003, the military has acquired about 7,000 unmanned aircraft that are flying surveillance and combat missions in overseas wars, Singer said, and it happened "in a bureaucratic blink of an eye."

And even today, each branch of the military remains eager to obtain more.

"Basically, the Air Force is buying them as fast as they can," Singer said.

Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection has said it intends to increase unmanned aircraft systems across the country this year, and it expects a complete network of the unmanned planes all along the border by 2015.

Officials boasted about the Predators' effectiveness in a fact sheet published in February 2009. They reported that Predator B planes have flown more than 1,500 hours and contributed to the seizure of more than 15,000 pounds of marijuana and the apprehension of more than 4,000 undocumented people.

But more can be accomplished with the unmanned aircraft, Cuellar said Monday.

Discussions already have taken place about turning the Predator's high-resolution cameras, which Cuellar said could read a label on a bottle of water from 19,000 feet, on to Mexico to track movements of drug cartels.

But there are still a lot of sovereignty issues, Cuellar added, so any advancement of the idea would be up to Mexican government officials.

Additional material from The Associated Press.

© 2010 Statesman

Congressman Gutierrez and Comprehensive Immigration Reform

by John Lawrence

Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez has been on the media recently talking about comprehensive immigration reform. While giving lip service to stronger border protrction, what comprehensive immigration reform seems to mean to Congressman Gutierrez is a comprehensive plan to keep illegal immigrants inside the borders of the US and working at the jobs they now have. Gutierrez will provide these illegal immigrants with a comprehensive plan to keep them here and well employed. He will make them jump through hoops as long as they are not sent back to Mexico. He will make them pay a fine, learn English, make sure they have no criminal background and on and on. Just please don't send them back to Mexico.

What's so bad about being sent back to Mexico? It's not the end of the world. Deportation, which sounds sort of harsh, is just another name for repatriation which sounds a whole lot nicer. In an era of large scale and long term unemployment, illegal immigrants seem to be well employed albeit at low end jobs. Nevertheless, those jobs are jobs American citizens could be doing with the result that government expenditures on unemployment checks would diminish. Nevertheless, while Gutierrez doesn't want any illegal immigrants deported or repatriated, I would favor a case by case approach that would allow some to stay here based on certain criteria while requiring others to go. The fact that illegal immigrants have children born in the US who are American citizens shouldn't in and of itself give the parents the right to stay. If they don't want their family to be broken up, they can take the children with them. They would have the right to come back to the US when they are of legal age. Or they could make arrangements for their children to stay in the US with a legal guardian. What's wrong with that?

Congressman Gutierrez and others promote the myth that the jobs taken by illegal immigrants are jobs Americans don't want to do. Really? If I was long term unemployed, I think I'd take about any job offered to me including fruit picking, meat cutting, construction work or dish washing. I especially would take it if told that, if I didn't, my unemployment benefits would be cut off. Gutierrez wants to perpetuate the myth that only illegal immigrants are capable of doing these menial jobs. But so many college educated people do menial jobs.

Take me, for example. With a BS degree and two Masters Degrees, I am self-employed as a window cleaner and loving it. I didn't need any credentials or licensing or training whatsoever for this job. It's physical work and I learned from experience as I went along. This is not to say that window cleaning requires no talent whatsoever. But mostly what it requires is on the job training. You might say I'm a self taught window cleaner. Many others with college degrees have worked as taxi drivers or waiters and waitresses or cooks or maids or house cleaners. There's absolutely nothing demeaning about these jobs unbless one is demeaned by one's employer. That's why I recommend self-employment to the greatest extent possible. Many former stockbrokers, having seem the error of their ways, are now self-employed as gardeners and landscapers, jobs which a lot of illegals are also employed in.

The idea that menial work in and of itself is degrading is pure hogwash. At a recent windowcleaning convention I noticed the name of one of the companies there was "Unemployed Actors Windowcleaners." Many of the jobs that illegals do are socially necessary work. I feel that I'm contributing more to society as a window cleaner than I was when I worked in the military-industrial complex as an engineer and computer programmer. There I felt I was a parasite helping to make the US a bigger and stronger national security state and consuming resources that could have been better employed making the world a more peaceful and developed place. Mostly the military-industrial complex wastes resources sucking them out of the economy, resources that could be used to repair and improve infrastructure, build schools, hospitals, libraries, public transportation and parks both here and abroad.

The idea that menial work is somehow beneath Americans is absurd. Just as unemployed people should be forced to take menial jobs or lose their unemployment benefits, employers should be forced to hire American citizens or be fined or face jail. The unemployment rate among black youth is 50%, for black men about 20%, for those with no qualifications about 50%, for legal Latino men about 15%. Certain Americans tend to deplore those American citizens who are high school dropouts or who otherwise have no qualifications. How many qualifications do illegal immigrants have who come here to work in the hotel or restaurant or agricultural industries? It's not as if their Mexican college degrees got them ahead. It's time to stop pooh poohing every American citizen who doesn't have a college degree and saying, "Well, if you only went back to school you wouldn't find yourself in such an unemployed situation." For that matter many young Americans with college degrees are also unemployed.

The emphasis insofar as comprehensive immigration reform is concerned should not be, as Congressman Gutierrez wants it to be, on keeping illegals here and keeping them in their jobs. The emphasis should be first and foremost on protecting the border and stopping illegal immigration in the first place. Resources need to be shifted from the fruitless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and redeployed along the border. R&D budgets need to be shifted towards real defense or Homeland Security. Drones should be patrolling the border, not bombing innocent civilians in Pakistan. The 1000 or so military bases abroad need to be brought home and planted along the border. The Pentagon should be devoted to border protection instead of the military-industrial complex as now constituted. Secondly, the illegals that are already here should be dealt with and this should happen in a humane manner even if many of them need to be repatriated to the countries where they do hold legal citizenship.

Death Toll: Natural disasters 29 (and Counting), Man Made Disasters 36, Terrorists 0

by John Lawrence

With the proliferation of natural disasters like the recent Nashville, Tennesee, floods and man made disasters like the oil rig explosion and the West Virginia mine explosion taking a far greater toll on American lives than terrorism, maybe it's a good idea to reevaluate our priorities. Natural disasters are far more likely to account for more casualties going forward than terrorism is, and we should be prepared for them instead of considering each one some kind of rare event or Act of God that no one could have anticipated or predicted. Massive snowstorms and rainstorms which produce massive flooding are becoming normal events due, no doubt, to global warming. Global warming results in more moisture in the atmosphere. In fact water vapor in the global atmosphere has increased about 5% over the 20th century and 4% since 1970. Monster snow storms like Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse which hit Philadelphia and Baltimore this winter are caused by excess moisture in the air due to global warming. Although global temperatures have increased they are still cold enough to produce snow and ice storms. 

There are also an increased number and size of tornadoes like the one that hit Yazoo City, Mississippi, on April 24 that left 10 people dead. Disaster preparedness needs to be put on a par with anti-terrorism measures because natural disasters are causing far more deaths and destruction of property. And after each disaster, the Federal government has to step in and provide relief. That means that the taxpayers are on the hook for increasing amounts of money which is only borrowed and added to the national debt because not enough is budgeted for these increasingly more common events. President Obama announced after the oil rig disaster that British Petroleum would pay the full amount for the cleanup which is expected to reach $10 billion, but subsequently it has been pointed out that, because of a loophole in the law, actually BP is only on the hook for $75 million and guess who bears the rest of the cost? The US government aka the taxpayers. No wonder national deficits are increasing. While record amounts go to the military industrial complex each year, far too little is budgeted for the events that actually take the worst toll on American lives - natural and man made disasters. While record precipitation is bad for areas prone to flooding, it actually has produced something beneficial for California - large snow packs in the Sierra Mountains from which emanates California's water supply.

As far as man made disasters are concerned, most of them are caused by deregulation. Stricter regulatory standards might have prevented both the mine disaster in the Upper Big Branch mine and the oil rig disaster. Both companies fought off stricter safety standards which would have cost them more money to implement. Massey Energy had a panoply of violations which it managed to evade paying any penalties for or correcting do to loopholes in the law which allowed them to continue violating as long as they challenged them in court. British Petroleum lobbied against systems which might have provided a more fail safe shut off of the gushing oil. Now they will undoubtedly get out of paying for it due to another loophole in the law no doubt placed there by oil company lobbyists.

The Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for both terrorism and natural disasters, has to have its budget beefed up while at the same time decreasing the military budget. There needs to be a realignment between the US' actual needs for protection and its imagined needs. As natural disasters take an increasing toll, the monetary cost (hundreds of millions in property damage from the Nashville floods alone) needs to take prority over military spending. The cost of cleaning up natural disasters cannot just simply continue to be added to the defict and the national debt. BP will probably tie up their portion of the responsibility for the oil rig disaster in court with the result being that taxpayers will foot most of the bill. Exxon Mobil tied up the Exxon Valdez disaster in Prince William Sound and over 20 years later has not paid the full amount for the aftermath which was court ordered. Exxon Mobil has dragged its feet in paying the costs of damages to local fishermen while making record profits for itself. The original amount of punitive damages to be paid to the fishermen was $5 billion. That amount was reduced to 4 billion, raised back up to $4.5 billion, then cut to $2.5 billion, then further reduced to $507 million. A Supreme Court ruling is expected soon on whether Exxon should pay interest on this payment after 20 years of waiting. BP will likely use the courts to leave taxpayers holding the bag for the spillage in the Gulf especially since we have belatedly found out that the law limiting their liability is on their side.

Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil made record profits in 2007 ($40.61 billion) and 2008 ($45.2 billion) as it continued to shortchange Alaskan fishermen. It also paid no US taxes in 2008.

Last week, Forbes magazine published what the top U.S. corporations paid in taxes last year. “Most egregious,” Forbes notes, is General Electric, which “generated $10.3 billion in pretax income, but ended up owing nothing to Uncle Sam. In fact, it recorded a tax benefit of $1.1 billion.” Big Oil giant Exxon Mobil, which last year reported a record $45.2 billion profit, paid the most taxes of any corporation, but none of it went to the IRS: Exxon tries to limit the tax pain with the help of 20 wholly owned subsidiaries domiciled in the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands that (legally) shelter the cash flow from operations in the likes of Angola, Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi. No wonder that of $15 billion in income taxes last year, Exxon paid none of it to Uncle Sam, and has tens of billions in earnings permanently reinvested overseas. Mother Jones’ Adam Weinstein notes that, despite benefiting from corporate welfare in the U.S., Exxon complains about paying high taxes, claiming that it threatens energy innovation research. Pat Garofalo at the Wonk Room notes that big corporations’ tax shelter practices similar to Exxon’s shift a $100 billion annual tax burden onto U.S. taxpayers. In fact, in 2008, the Government Accountability Office found that “two out of every three United States corporations paid no federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005.”

So US corporations (and no doubt BP will follow suit) continue to make record profits while dumping any losses on US taxpayers just as Wall Street bankers did. While other countries such as Norway tax the profits on oil drilling 50% thereby generating profit for the national treasury, the US foolishly just gives away the oil leases so that all profits go to the corporations while the majority of the losses are paid by US taxpayers. No wonder the US has an immense national debt! And global warming produced natural disasters (unbudgeted for) will only continue to get worse adding even more. While the Times Square bomber didn't manage to kill a single person and was caught immediately thanks to excellent police work by the FBI and others not to mention citizen vigilance, which helped to prevent an event which could have produced a number of casualties, the casualties and property damage due to excessive precipitation and high winds continues to mount. Do we have our priorities straight when we continue to allocate billions to the military-industrial complex and paltry amounts to Homeland Security? Homeland Security in addition to being responsible for terrorism and natual disasters is also reponsible for protecting our borders against illegal immigration. Although illegal immigration continues to take its toll on American society, relatively paltry amounts are allocated to it while fantasy wars of aggression continue to be fought abroad. And the cost of supporting over 1000 military bases on foreign soil continues to mount.

The Homeland Security budget for 2010 is $55 billion while the miltary budget is about $1 trillion - orders of magnitude greater. US budget priorities are totally out of whack. While good intelligence and police work has done much to protect US citizens from terrorist attacks, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have only increased their liklihood due to killing of civilians and stoking the fires of resentment towards the US who are considered to be foreign invaders. Protection against terrorist attacks which have killed very few US citizens and caused very little property damage compared to natural disasters primarilyshould consist of defensive not an offensive measures. The Times Square bomber was caught in part due to a fingerprint database. His finger prints matched those left on the Nissan Pathfinder. A national ID card including links to a fingerprint database would do more to prevent terrorism than the combined efforts of the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force because terrorists are just as likely to be American citizens as foreign citizens. And it would identify people in the country illegally at the same time. A national database of student visa holders would have prevented the 9/11 attacks since a lot of them had overstayed their student visas. It can be shown categorically that defensive measures can and will prevent future attacks at a fraction  of the cost of military adventurism which is only increasing their liklihood.

But the real wild card here - and something which can bankrupt the US unless it's figured into the annual budget - is preparedness for natural disasters. Increased moisture in the atmosphere caused by global warming will continue to produce massive rainstorms, snowstorms, hurricanes and tornadoes, increased casualties and billions of dollars of property damage, much of which will be borne privately by American citizens who will become destitute in the process. As if the recession in and of itself weren't enough to devastate the middle class! The US hasn't even recovered from Hurricane Katrina 5 years ago! The US can expect to be devastated by ongoing natural disasters. In order to prevent a fiscal disaster as well we have to budget and plan for them.